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Investing.com -- OCI NV (AS:OCI) on Thursday reported a net profit of $343 million for the first half of 2025, driven primarily by a $688 million gain from the sale of its methanol business to Methanex Corporation.
The sale, completed on June 27, 2025, generated $1.6 billion in value, including $1.3 billion in cash and $346 million in Methanex shares, representing a 12.9% stake in the company.
Total operations revenue for the period was $1.06 billion. Continuing operations, which include European Nitrogen and corporate entities, reported revenue of $567 million, an 11% increase compared with $510 million in the first half of 2024.
Adjusted EBITDA for continuing operations was $1 million, down from $7 million in the same period last year.
The European Nitrogen segment posted adjusted EBITDA of $21 million, compared with $48 million in H1 2024. Higher revenue, driven by a 24% increase in CAN pricing and a 29% increase in UAN pricing, was offset by a 38% increase in European gas prices and lower sales volumes due to plant outages.
Own-produced sales volumes in the segment rose 3% year-on-year, supported by stronger nitrate sales and the full first-half contribution of AdBlue sales. Ammonia production volumes fell 35% due to planned maintenance and outages.
OCI reduced underlying corporate costs excluding one-offs to $20 million in H1 2025, compared with $41 million in the same period last year.
The company reported an adjusted net loss attributable to shareholders from total operations of $30 million for the first half, compared with a $104 million adjusted net loss in continuing operations in the prior-year period.
Continuing operations recorded a net loss of $331 million, compared with $167 million in H1 2024, reflecting non-cash foreign exchange losses, Beaumont Clean Ammonia project costs, and debt modification charges linked to early repayment of 2033 bonds.
OCI completed the full repayment of its 2033 bonds on August 7, 2025, calling the principal at a price of 110.75%, totaling $680.2 million, including accrued interest.
The company’s operating free cash outflow from continuing operations was $83 million, compared with $70 million in the same period last year. European Nitrogen was cash flow positive despite higher maintenance capital expenditure and lost production from planned outages.
Net cash from continuing operations stood at $1.03 billion on June 30, 2025, down $340 million from year-end 2024 due to the methanol sale proceeds, a $1 billion shareholder distribution in May, Beaumont project spending, and operating outflows.
OCI spent $336 million on the Beaumont New Ammonia project in the first half of 2025, bringing total project spend to $1.29 billion as of June 30.
The company expects total investment cost at completion in the first quarter of 2026 to reach approximately $1.65 billion, including contingencies.
Construction is largely complete, with the project now in pre-commissioning and commissioning stages. First ammonia production is expected later this year, with handover to Woodside anticipated in the first quarter of 2026.
As part of a broader strategic review, OCI said it had advanced discussions on potential sales of its European Nitrogen assets and expects further updates by year-end.
On September 22, the company announced plans to pursue a combination with Orascom Construction PLC to form a scalable infrastructure and investment platform anchored in Abu Dhabi.
The contemplated merger would combine Orascom’s engineering and construction capabilities with OCI’s investment platform and capital allocation track record.
OCI retained Rothschild & Co as financial adviser and De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek as legal counsel for the transaction.
Market conditions in Europe remain mixed. Northwest Europe ammonia prices averaged $511 per tonne in H1 2025, down 12% from H2 2024 but up 8% year-on-year.
OCI noted potential long-term support for ammonia markets from capacity curtailments in Europe and emerging low-carbon ammonia demand.
Nitrate prices rose, with CAN prices in Germany up 15% and UAN prices in France up 24% year-on-year.
The company highlighted regulatory developments, including the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism from January 2026 and tariffs on Russian nitrogen imports starting July 2025, as factors affecting the market outlook.
OCI reported a 12-month rolling recordable incident rate of 0.31 incidents per 200,000 working hours as of June 30, 2025.
Own-product sales volumes from total operations were 1,889 thousand tonnes in H1 2025. Realized gas hedge losses amounted to $59 million for the period.