Interim report for the period January 1 – March 31, 2024
Sweden's first production of a green mineral fertilizer on an industrial scale is now starting up
The first quarter of 2024 was intense, and a lot has happened in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. During the first months of the year, work on completing Cinis Fertilizer’s first production facility continued at a high pace, and in the middle of the second quarter we have now been able to start up the production of potassium sulfate. With a fossil-free production method, we are the first in the world to produce an environmentally friendly potassium sulfate with a low carbon footprint using industrial waste products as one of the inputs. It is not only an important contribution to reducing the carbon footprint from agriculture, but also to strengthening Sweden’s and Europe’s self-sufficiency through local fertilizer production.
January – March 2024
- Net sales amounted to SEK – million (–)
- Operating profit/loss amounted to SEK -13.8 million (-5.7)
- Profit/loss after financial items amounted to SEK -14.2 million (-4.7)
- Earnings per share, before and after dilution, amounted to SEK -0.20 million (-0.07)
- Cash flow from operating activities after changes in working capital amounted to SEK -6.2 million (-0.1)
Significant events during the quarter
- Cinis Fertilizer signed a letter of intent with the Japanese company Itochu Corporation with the aim of establishing operations in Asia.
- Cinis Fertilizer secured supplies of inputs for the start of production according to plan and for full production during the rest of the year. The delays at a collaboration partner affect neither the company’s planned start of production nor the production volumes for 2024, as the company has agreements with complementary suppliers of the input product sodium sulfate.
- All employees required to run the business in Örnsköldsvik were hired and began their duties.
Significant events after the quarter
- The Annual and Sustainability report was published.
- Sweden’s s first production of green mineral fertilizer on an industrial scale is starting up.
Ceo's comment
Sweden's first production of a green mineral fertilizer on an industrial scale is now starting up
The first quarter of 2024 was intense, and a lot has happened in Örnsköldsvik. During the first months of the year, work on completing Cinis Fertilizer’s first production facility continued at a high pace, and in the middle of the second quarter we have now been able to start up the production of potassium sulfate. With a fossil-free production method, we are the first in the world to produce an environmentally friendly potassium sulfate with a low carbon footprint using industrial waste products as one of the inputs. It is not only an important contribution to reducing the carbon footprint from agriculture, but also to strengthening Sweden’s and Europe’s self-sufficiency through local fertilizer production.
I am incredibly impressed by our employees and partners who in all essentials have managed to keep the very tough schedule. From the ground-breaking ceremony to starting up the production, it took just under fifteen months, which is a very short time and a historic achievement when it comes to the construction and establishment of a brand-new production facility.
During March 2024, commissioning began together with our main supplier Evatherm. Step by step, the equipment and installation were checked and then tested. In April, a cold-water run was first started and followed by a hot water run towards the end of the month, which means that the entire production plant is test run with the right temperature and conditions before dosing inputs. Now we have dosed the input materials and started up the production process to shortly have a finished potassium sulfate to deliver. All potassium sulfate production from the plant in Örnsköldsvik is to be delivered to our customer Van Iperen International and during the second quarter we expect to send the first delivery. Then we also enter the next phase of our journey – to be a producing company with sales revenue. We expect to be able to have full production for the second half of 2024.
Due to production delays at our partner, we will initially have to buy in produced sodium sulfate to supplement their residual streams and ensure our production volumes. This temporarily means a lower proportion of residual flows into the process than planned, but the main environmental benefit – a fossil-free production process with significantly lower energy consumption – remains. We are working intensively with the supplier mix to reduce the effects on the current year and create the best possible conditions in order to reach maximum circularity and cost efficiency for 2025. We continue to the assessment that we will reach a positive cash flow from operational activities during the summer. Cinis Fertilizer’s long-term financial goals remain.
Even in successful construction and establishment projects, unexpected problems are encountered along the way, and you are forced to come up with new, smarter solutions. Our production facility is no exception. All the lessons learned during pre-design, construction, and start-up, we are now bringing into the work with the next production facility, Hopkinsville, Kentucky. I am incredibly proud of how we managed to realize this first green industrial project in such a short time. With production starting up, Cinis Fertilizer will be able to contribute to agriculture’s green transition already this year. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has been involved and made this possible: employees, partners, and financiers, to name just a few.
Jakob Liedberg, CEO
For full report, please see attached file.
For more information, please contact:
Jakob Liedberg, CEO
jakob@cinis-fertilizer.com
+46 768 58 12 86
Charlotte Becker, IR and Communications & Marketing director
charlotte@cinis-fertilizer.com
+46 730 37 07 07
Henrik Andersson, CFO
henrik@cinis-fertilizer.com
+46 705 70 87 53
This information is such information that Cinis Fertilizer is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU’s Market Abuse Regulation. This report has been prepared with a Swedish and an English version. In the event of any discrepancies between the two, the Swedish version applies. This information was published, through the agency of the contact persons above, on May 8, 2024, at 08:00 a.m. CET.
About Cinis Fertilizer
Cinis Fertilizer is a Swedish green-tech company producing an environmentally friendly mineral fertilizer, potassium sulphate (SOP), by recycling waste products from battery manufacturing and recycling, as well as the pulp industry and other industries. The patent protected technology will use half as much energy as today’s production methods and the result is a fertilizer with low carbon footprint, a unique and circular contribution enabling sustainable agriculture. FNCA Sweden AB is Certified Adviser. For further information please visit: www.cinis-fertilizer.com.
