Acron Group is a Russian group of interrelated companies and one of the leading global mineral fertilizer

Fertilizer

Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...

 producers in the world.

History

At the core of the Group are two production facilities, Acron (established in 1961) and Dorogobuzh (established in 1966), which at one time formed the basis of the Soviet fertiliser industry. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, both enterprises were privatised, underwent a large-scale revamping and adopted the long-term reconstruction and upgrade programme and consolidated corporate governance system. Early in this decade the Company set a course to develop a vertically integrated business. Today, in addition to its production assets, the Group has its own logistics and distribution networks and is investing in raw material projects. In order to strengthen its hand in the world's largest fertiliser market – China – in 2005 the Group acquired complex fertiliser producer Hongri Acron and created its own extensive distribution network.

Owners and Executives

Shareholder Structure as of 30 September 2010

• Acronagroservice (19.78% of authorised capital),
• Questar Holdings Limited (18.95% of authorised capital),
• Refco Holdings Limited (19.47% of authorised capital),
• Granadilla Holdings Limited (13.26% of authorised capital),
• Dorogobuzh (8.16% of authorised capital),
• GDR facility (4.64% of authorised capital).

Ivan Antonov, Chairman of the Managing Board and CEO

Alexander Popov, Chairman of the Board of Directors

Activity

Acron is a global mineral fertiliser producer with a diversified product portfolio consisting of multi-nutrient fertilisers such as NPK and bulk blends, and straight nitrogen-based products such as urea, ammonium nitrate and urea-ammonium nitrate. The Group's key markets are Russia, China and other Asian countries, Europe, Latin America, and FSU countries.
Acron has three production facilities – Acron (Veliky Novgorod, Russia), Dorogobuzh (Smolensk Region, Russia) and Hongri Acron (Shandong Province, China). Acron’s logistics and transportation capabilities include its own fleet of railway cars and three sea port trans-shipment facilities on the Baltic Sea – at the Kaliningrad port of Russia, at the Estonian Sillamäe port and at the Estonian Muuga port

Port of Muuga

The Port of Muuga is the largest cargo port in Estonia, located on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, 13 km northeast of the capital Tallinn, in Maardu. It is one of the few ice-free ports in northernmost Europe....

. The Group operates distribution networks in Russia and China. Acron employs over 13,000 people.
North-Western Phosphorus Company (NWPC) was established by the Group in 2005 to secure an independent phosphate raw material base. On 24 October 2006 NWPC obtained state licences to develop apatite-nepheline ore deposits at the Oleniy Ruchey and Partomchorr fields in the Murmansk region. In 2008, the design for the mine to be built at Oleniy Ruchey phosphate deposit was approved by Russian regulators, including its environmental aspect, and NWPC was issued a construction permit for the mine. According to the licence agreement, the first stage of the Oleniy Ruchey project is to be commissioned in 2013, with the second stage to follow in 2018. The design capacity of the mine is expected at 2 million tonnes of apatite concentrate and 1.8 million tonnes of nepheline concentrate per year.
Verkhnekamsk Potash Company (established by the Group in 2006) owns the licence to develop the Talitsky area of the Verknekamsk potassium-magnesium salts deposit in Perm Krai, Russia. The potash project is currently in development. The capacity of the mine to be constructed is expected to reach 2 million tonnes of potash per year.

Performance Highlights

In 2009, the Group’s output of ammonia and mineral fertilisers (exclusive of own use) totaled 4.4 million tonnes.
In 2009 the Group’s consolidated revenues under IFRS were RUB 37.5 billion (US$ 1.2 billion), and net income was RUB 7.3 billion (US$ 228 million).

Sales

The Group sells its products both via retailers and directly to end users. The Group established its own distribution network under the Agronova brand in 2005 to improve the efficiency of its domestic sales. Agronova has 6 regional branches and 16 specialised warehouse facilities. The total storage capacity of the distribution network is 169,000 tonnes. Agronova International Inc. was founded by Acron in 2008 to handle marketing, distribution and sea transportation of the Group’s export cargos. Agronova Europa AG was set up in 2009 to supply the Group’s products to the European market. The Group continues to develop its own distribution network in China, called Yong Sheng Feng. Yong Sheng Feng’s key business is wholesaling fertilisers and other chemicals.

External links

• Acron official website
• IFA member companies
• Acron is the new Russian fertilizer play as world potash prices soar. Retrieved on 13 August 2008.
• Acron to reduce listing after commodity decline. Retrieved on 13 August 2008.

Sources

• Acron's prospectus for the purposes of Directive 2003/71/EC as of 6 August 2008