AgroPages-Huaxing Chemical posts strong nine-month results-Agricultural news

Chinese agrochemical company Anhui Huaxing Chemical (Anhui) recorded sales of Yuan 1,231 million ($180.6 million at current rate) in the first nine months of 2008, more than double the figure from the same period last year. Net profit for the period was Yuan 215 million ($31.5 million), more than five times last year’s figure. Sales for the third quarter were Yuan 307 million ($45 million), while net profit stood at Yuan 48 million ($7 million).?

The company sees the herbicide, glyphosate, as the driving force behind its results. Slower growth in the third quarter than earlier quarters reflects the recent drop in the price of glyphosate. The herbicide sold at an average of Yuan 82,100 ($12,044)/tonne in the first half of 2008, falling to an average of Yuan 68,000 ($9,976)/tonne in the third quarter. That left the nine-month average at Yuan 77,400 ($11,355)/tonne. This is still a considerable increase on last year’s average price of Yuan 46,700 ($6,851).?

The company’s yearly production capacity of the herbicide has increased to 15,000 tonnes following an expansion of its production facility, completed in April 2007. Anhui Huaxing has invested in a 50,000 tonne/year production plant for the glyphosate intermediate, iminodiacetonitrile, which will have a “positive influence” on the production capacity and competitiveness of its glyphosate.