GDANSK(Reuters) -Polish chemical firm Grupa Azoty on Monday unveiled a strategy aimed at restoring profitability by restructuring its operations, expanding its logistics business and launching a new defence segment, after a period of heavy losses.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
The strategy comes at a critical juncture for Azoty, whose profitability has been hit since late 2022 by high gas prices and cheap Russian and Belarusian fertilizer imports.
The company has also struggled with cost overruns on its flagship polymer production project, prompting a 1.02 billion zloty ($280.49 million) offer from fellow state-run refiner Orlen to take over the petrochemical unit running the project.
BY THE NUMBERS
The state-controlled company aims for an annual core profit (EBITDA) between 1.9 and 2.0 billion zlotys and revenue of 17-18 billion zlotys by 2030.
Grupa Azoty also plans to invest 3-4 billion zlotys between 2025 and 2030 under the strategy.
CONTEXT
The company’s new defence segment will produce key high-energy materials like nitrocellulose, addressing a domestic supply gap for ammunition components.
Azoty’s pivot is part of a wider trend of Polish industrial companies entering the defence sector, driven by a national re-armament push and a planned spending surge to the highest level in NATO.
($1 = 3.6365 zlotys)
(Reporting by Rafal Nowak;Editing by Matt Scuffham)
