Norwegian fertilizer-maker Yara posted slightly higher than expected second-quarter profits on Tuesday and warned there could be shortages of nitrogen-based fertilizers amid high gas prices.
April-June earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, excluding one-off items, rose to $1.48 billion from $775 million a year ago, while analysts in a company-provided poll had expected profits of $1.39 billion.
“There is a clear risk of nitrogen shortages and further price spikes if the gas situation in Europe deteriorates further”, Yara CEO Svein Tore Holsether said in a statement.
Fertilizers require large amounts of energy to be produced. Manufacturers like Yara use gas to do so.
(Reporting by Gwladys Fouche)
