Poland's Grupa Azoty turns to positive core profit in Q4 as gas prices ease

Grupa Azoty SA

24/04/2026 06:45

April 24 (Reuters) - Polish chemicals group Grupa Azoty ATTP.WA returned to a positive core profit in the fourth quarter of its financial year, supported by lower gas prices and a deal to offload its troubled polyolefins unit to Orlen PKN.WA, it said late on Thursday.

The state-controlled group booked multi-billion zloty impairments at the soon-to-be-sold unit, whose propane dehydrogenation installation suffered a permanent technical failure in July 2025, leaving its polypropylene plant idle.

European gas prices fell 30% year-on-year, easing raw material costs across the group

Q4 core profit was 11 million zlotys ($3 million), with the margin up 1.4 percentage points to 0.4%

Impairments at subsidiaries, mainly Grupa Azoty Polyolefins, cut operating profit by about 4.45 billion zlotys

Agro segment, which produces nitrogen and multi-component fertilisers, posted a core profit margin of 0.4%, with sales volumes up 6%

Higher EU tariffs on Russian and Belarusian fertilisers curbed imports into Europe

Buyers also front-loaded fertiliser purchases ahead of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, a carbon tariff on imports that took effect on January 1

The chemistry segment, which makes industrial chemicals including urea and titanium white, reported a core profit margin of -3.5%

It was affected by trade tensions between major global economies and a surge of cheaper Chinese imports

Plastics segment core profit margin was -7.9%, hit by the idled polypropylene plant, weak European auto demand and polyamide imports from China

($1 = 3.6309 zlotys)

(Reporting by Rafal Nowak in Gdansk)

((RafalWojciech.Nowak@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 769 66 63;))