UAE: Fertiglobe approves dividend of $1.45bln for 2022

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Fertiglobe’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) has approved cash dividends for H2 2022, amounting to $700 million and $1.45 billion for FY 2022, positioning it as one of the highest dividend payers in the industry by yield.

Fertiglobe is the strategic partnership between Adnoc and OCI Global, the world’s largest seaborne exporter of urea and ammonia combined, the largest nitrogen fertiliser producer in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, and an early mover in sustainable ammonia.

Fertiglobe’s dividends for 2022 were backed by solid financial performance, driven by competitive positioning on the global cost curve and strong free cash flow conversion capacity.

Robust earnings

Robust earnings and cash generation during the year resulted in a net cash position of $287 million as of December 31, 2022, compared to net debt of $487 million as at December 31, 2021, supporting attractive returns to shareholders as well as future growth opportunities.

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Chairman of Fertiglobe, said: “We are confident that Fertiglobe has a robust strategy for growth, as the company continues to deliver solid earnings and drive positive change in the region and globally, while creating sustainable and long-term value for its shareholders.

“Since listing on the ADX in 2021, the company has delivered robust performance and embarked on vital initiatives to drive the energy transition and low-carbon economy, in line with Abu Dhabi and the UAE’s sustainability ambitions. Looking ahead, Fertiglobe is well positioned to create sustainable value, making meaningful progress on its ambitions as it capitalises on a powerful and strategically located operating platform, world-scale assets and unique commercial and logistics capabilities.”

Key milestones

Ahmed El-Hoshy, Chief Executive Officer of Fertiglobe, commented: “Fertiglobe has reached several important milestones and created shareholder value while staying true to our long-term strategy and vision. In particular, I am pleased with the material progress achieved on our decarbonisation and sustainability agenda, through initiatives such as eliminating the use of freshwater across 100% of our operations, launching the first phase of our Egypt Green Hydrogen project at COP27, followed by receiving the ISCC PLUS Certification for renewable ammonia from our Egypt facilities.

“We have also made progress on our 1 million tonne low-carbon ammonia per annum project in the UAE, in partnership with TA’ZIZ, GS Energy Corporation and Mitsui & Co Ltd, leading to signing the EPC contract in early 2023, and have completed pilot shipments of low carbon ammonia to key markets in Asia and Europe, as well as trial Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) shipments to Europe, diversifying our portfolio into industrial products, demonstrating the flexibility and versatility of our platform.

Compelling growth

“Looking ahead, despite the prevailing pricing backdrop for our products, we are in a good position to leverage our unique business model and continue to pursue compelling growth opportunities, while consistently delivering on our promises to shareholders. We are committed to delivering on our operational excellence programme as well as sustainability initiatives and to providing a good example of tangible progress on decarbonisation, leading up to COP 28 hosted by the UAE this year.”

In 2022, Fertiglobe received first-time investment grade credit ratings from S&P (BBB-), Moody’s (Baa3), and Fitch (BBB-), all with stable outlooks, underlining its strong profitability and cash generation capability. Fertiglobe is a constituent of the FTSE ADX 15 Index (FADX 15), launched by ADX in partnership with FTSE Russell, and the FTSE Emerging Markets index, highlighting its attractiveness to local and global investors.