Achema Group’s 2023 results were driven by raw material price hikes and reduced cargo flows

According to audited consolidated data, the group of companies managed by Achema Group generated consolidated revenues of €1.2 billion last year. The Group’s consolidated net loss for 2023 was €17.05 million.

The Group’s financial performance was mainly impacted by the European Union energy crisis in 2022 and the sudden and unpredictable spikes in raw material prices, as well as the radical increase in fertiliser imports from third countries, which affected the performance of Achema, the Group’s largest company. Fertiliser producers from third countries with natural gas resources managed to saturate the EU fertiliser market with significantly cheaper products, forcing many EU producers to shut down their production processes and making it more difficult for Achema to remain competitive.

Achema AB, a producer of nitrogen fertilisers and other chemical products, has an audited net loss of €47 million in 2023, with sales revenues down 55% last year to €423.6 million (€937.2 million in 2022).

The results of the Group’s stevedoring businesses were significantly impacted by a drop in cargo volumes at the Port of Klaipėda. Following the loss of cargo volumes in 2022, last year’s cargo volumes continued to decline in the Ro-Ro segment due to a drop in transit through Belarus. The loss of cargo from the East was partly compensated by imports from the West via Klaipėda Port.

In 2023, Achema Group invested EUR 80 million in sustaining its operations and developing a sustainable business. Most of these investments were directed to the 264 MW wind farm being developed in the Pagėgiai district. In the fertiliser business, the main investments were in modernising production lines, the electricity grid and supply, while in the cargo handling business, the main areas of investment were business development projects and the adaptation of port cargo handling equipment to new cargoes. In agribusiness, investments have focused on the purchase of fixed assets to improve working conditions and sustainability. Energy companies continued to invest in renewable energy.

Last year, the Group paid €111.68 million in taxes to the State budget, including the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tax, Public Interest Services (PIS) and Emission Allowances (EA).

Achema Group concern is one of the country’s largest national capital business groups, uniting about 40 companies operating in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Germany, France, Belgium, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Croatia. They are active in fertiliser production, agribusiness, handling and logistics, energy, gas production and trading, as well as other businesses.