Hello, welcome to today's Fertiglobe Q2 2023 Results Conference Call. My name is Bailey, I'll be your moderator for today's call. All lines will be muted during the presentation portion, with an opportunity for questions and answers at the end. If you would like to ask a question, please press Star followed by one on your telephone keypad. Alternatively, if you have joined us via the web, you may submit a written question via the Q&A box on your screen. I would now like to pass the conference over to our host, Rita Guindy, Director of Investor Relations. Rita, please go ahead.
Good morning and good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining Fertiglobe's Q2 2023 Results Conference Call. With me today are Ahmed El-Hoshy, our Chief Executive Officer, Haroon Rahmatullah, our Chief Operating Officer, and Andrew Stuart, our Chief Financial Officer. This call, we will review Fertiglobe's key operational events and financial highlights for the quarter, followed by a discussion of our outlook. The presentation will be followed by a question and answer session at the end of the call. The quarterly results report is available on our investor relations website, and I would like to remind you that any forward-looking statements made on this call involve risks, and the actual results could differ materially from those statements. With this, I will now hand over to Ahmed El-Hoshy, CEO of Fertiglobe.
Thank you, Rita, and thank you all for joining Fertiglobe's Q2 2023 Results Conference Call. Before we go into the results update and market outlook, I'd like to start by first highlighting our strong commitment to safety, which remains our top priority. Our 12-month rolling recordable incident rate was 0.13 incidents per 200,000 man-hours at the end of June 2023. Although this is significantly better than industry averages, we emphasize our continued focus on operational and process safety throughout our organization as we strive towards a culture of zero injuries and take the safety and wellbeing of our employees very seriously as a top priority. Now moving on to Q2 2023 financial results.
Fertiglobe's revenues and adjusted EBITDA decreased 63% and 72% year-over-year, respectively, to $552 million and $218 million during the quarter. Our year-over-year performance during the quarter was impacted by a mix of factors. One, lower prices for our products on the back of strong swings in European natural gas prices, leading to a lower global marginal cost environment. Significant demand deferrals from key importing regions, as well as increased supply that ramped up in late 2022 and early 2023, that was being absorbed by the market. Effectively, while prices were dropping and trying to find a floor, buyers in the agricultural and industrial sectors were sitting on the sidelines as long as possible to avoid printing a loss if they came in too early.
The other major factor was lower sales volumes compared to Q2 of 2022, primarily due to a lower starting inventory level in Q2 2023 versus Q2 2022. It's important to highlight, however, that the lower sales volumes are not a reflection of reduced operating rates, as our production was actually up 4% compared to the second quarter of last year, despite a major turnaround in Algeria that we had in one of our ammonia lines in the second quarter of this year. So that's thanks to great efforts by our teams to improve our plant efficiency and reliability levels as part of our manufacturing improvement plan. In terms of pricing, we're pleased to say that markets have recently turned a corner, supported by demand recovery, record low inventory levels post the application seasons in the U.S. and Europe, and very tight supply.
Prices bottomed in June of this year and have moved up materially since then. For example, in Egypt, urea prices are now at approximately $470 a ton FOB, up 60% from their trough levels in June, with continued positive trajectory. We also remain constructive on the nitrogen price outlook in the medium to long term, supported by limited incremental supply additions over the next 4 years, coupled with healthy farm economics, incentivizing nitrogen fertilizer application, as well as elevated marginal production costs in Europe compared to historical periods. Going forward, we expect to hear more announcements on permanent closures at European marginal production facilities if ammonia pricing continues to persist at or below marginal production costs, similar to the several announcements already made in the UK and Germany over the last couple of quarters.
Meanwhile, Fertiglobe continues to enjoy its first quartile position on the cost curve on our own production and distribution economics. On the commercial front, we believe that going into the second half of this year, we are well positioned to service demand emerging from key importing regions, leveraging our centralized distribution capabilities and targeting demand centers that offer the highest netback, further supported by the reinstatement of urea and ammonia import duties into Europe in mid-June of this year. This advantages our duty-exempt Egyptian and Algerian production. In terms of our sustainability-focused initiatives, we're excited to continue to diversify our product offering via our DEF or AdBlue, or diesel exhaust fluid sales from our plants in Egypt into Europe, where demand for the product continues to be supported by increasingly stricter emissions regulations, focusing on NOx and particulate emissions that DEF is able to ameliorate.
We also continue to progress our sustainability-focused projects, including the TA'ZIZ 1 million ton low-carbon ammonia project and the low-carbon ammonia pilot project we have in the UAE at Fertil. In addition, we expect to commence the front-end engineering design or the FEED process for our green hydrogen production project in the UAE and our full-scale project for green hydrogen in Egypt during the second half of this year. Through these initiatives and projects, we continue to take serious steps towards achieving a more sustainable footprint for our production, as well as a reduction in Scope 3 emissions for others. We look forward to providing further updates to the market in the coming months. On the financial side, our solid balance sheet position and cash flow management allows us to pursue these growth initiatives while balancing shareholder returns.
We're pleased to propose H1-2023 dividends of at least $250 million, or the equivalent of at least 11 fils per share, subject to board approval in September 2023. After which, we expect to pay these dividends in October 2023, in line with last year. As previously highlighted, we're moving ahead with a number of active management initiatives aimed at supporting our free cash flow generation across cycles, independent of pricing. One, which we announced last quarter, was our cost optimization initiative to target $50 million in recurring annualized savings by the end of 2024. Of which, and I'm happy to say, 25%-30% are planned to be achieved this year on a run rate basis. Key focus areas will be operating model enhancements, improved logistics, logistical capabilities together between operations and logistics, contributing 60...
operating model logistics, contributing 60% of that run rate savings, as well as operational costs and spending initiatives. In addition, and separate from that, we are seeing strong positive results from our manufacturing improvement plan and are on track to deliver operational and cost efficiency improvements independent of cycle by 2025. The commitment of the Fertiglobe team to maintaining best-in-class safety, performance, and excellence standards is a significant factor in driving our success, and I'm very thankful for their dedication. I also, I also have to highlight, we, we continue to benefit from the fact that we have one of the youngest fleets in the global markets for nitrogen, ammonia, urea, and DEF production, which we tend to benefit from as part of this manufacturing improvement plan. I'd now like to briefly discuss the outlook for nitrogen, fertilizer, and ammonia markets.
We've seen a critical turning point in nitrogen markets during the past two months, following a turbulent period with rapidly declining prices. The global nitrogen sector started the second quarter with high inventories after this prolonged period of hand-to-mouth buying and deferrals of purchases until the last possible moment. Much has changed since then. Nitrogen markets are tightening, and as I mentioned, urea price increases of around 60% have happened despite the usual summer lull of fertilizers we see in Q3. In the short term, there are several factors driving this recovery. Firstly, we've seen rapid demand recovery during the season. Farmer affordability remains a major motivation for buying our product for the third year in a row and shows no sign of abatement.
Grain prices and forward grain prices have been moving up recently, giving a further boost to farm incomes and incentivizing the application of nitrogen to be above historical trend levels, including the substantial pent-up demand from key importing regions. This, of course, is a significant change from the decline in demand we saw in 2022 and early 2023. Secondly, the 2022 and 2023 fertilizer application season concluded with record low inventory levels in some major key markets. This was particularly the case in North America, where carry out was down year on year for all nitrogen products, but also in Europe, where demand cleared inventories. Brazil, and Latin America in general, is buying more nitrogen and earlier than usual. In India, we continue to see the need for substantial volumes.
We expect more than 4 million tons of urea to be imported in the balance of the second half of this year, which is up from 2.5 million tons in the first half period. This also includes a potential additional 1 million tons above that in demand in the second half, bringing the total import to 5 million tons in our productions. Following the robust rains and flooding we've seen in northwest parts of India, prompting farmers to buy more urea and apply more nitrogen. Moreover, after significant increases in production in India in the year-to-date May 2023 period, reducing the need for imports, which we talked about, which I just talked about a little bit earlier, in terms of, having less demand in the beginning because of the new productions coming online.
We've seen a reversal of that pattern, where domestic production in June and July is actually lower compared to a year ago. This has prompted an earlier-than-expected India tender happening next week. Thirdly, supply started to tighten rapidly. In 2022, the 6 million tons of new urea capacity commissioned, and most of those plants wrapped up to full capacity or near full capacity in the 1st quarter and into the H1 of this year. All this new capacity has now been largely absorbed, with limited major new capacity greenfield additions over the next several years. Additionally, as of late, extreme heat this summer has resulted in production curtailments in various locations as gas usage is being prioritized for power consumption. To date, we have not been affected as Fertiglobe in any material way by such curtailments.
As of mid-June, there was also a normalization of trade flows after the EU removed the import duty suspension on ammonia and urea. Back to 6.5% duty on urea and 5.5% duty on ammonia. This materially benefits Fertiglobe's production and sales starting mid-June 2023, as the product from Egypt and Algeria is exempt. This is after circa 1 million ton urea and 450,000 ton ammonia import into Europe from non-traditional origins that are now gonna feel the effect of duties making their way during the 6-month suspension period where there were no duties into Europe. Chinese exports remain capped and were at about 1 million tons during H1 2023, or almost 30% below the 2018-2020 average export levels.
We expect another 2 million tons of urea exports during the balance of this year, or approximately 3 million tons for the year in total. Ammonia imports in China have increased substantially year-to-date, demonstrating strong growth with an approximately 170% increase or more than doubling in the first half of this year, reaching 390,000 tons from 145,000 tons imported in the same period last year due to fertilizer and industrial demand recovery. As we look forward to the medium- and long-term agricultural fundamentals, we believe it is a healthy backdrop for our business. Underpinned by 20-year low grain stocks and during a period, once again, of heightened concern on food security and increasingly volatile weather with El Niño.
This backdrop has raised the concerns about crop yields, which we believe will drive the use of nitrogen fertilizer over the medium term to help improve grain supply conditions. Industry experts estimate it will take at least two more growing seasons to replenish stocks to historical levels of stability. This additional demand cannot be met and served from just the new capacity, as there are no major new greenfields announcements or greenfield additions until 2027, except for in Russia and a smaller plant in Turkey. This should result in a continued tightening of global supply and demand balances. Also, word on industrial markets. Ammonia markets have been particularly weak, but have appeared to have stabilized and have seen some recent increases, with higher cost economics, increased outages, particularly east of Suez, setting a firm floor.
A recovery in demand on the fertilizer side, both nitrogen and phosphate, is also boosting ammonia use, imports in China, India, Turkey, and Morocco have increased. The global ammonia trade has been at trough levels in 2022 and 2023 at approximately 17 million tons, but a recovery in both the fertilizer industrial end markets should take this back towards historic levels of 19 million tons per year and should grow from there, particularly with the increase in clean ammonia demand over the course of this decade. Finally, cost curve economics should start putting more pressure on producers once again. European gas futures over the next winter and 2024 are implying ammonia cost support levels, excluding CO₂ costs, of $590 a ton, which is materially higher than where we sit today.
If you do include CO₂ costs, the full impact, that's $715 a ton, which could result in temporary, further temporary and permanent closures of European marginal cost of production if pricing remains below cost for a sustained period of time, as we've seen over the last few quarters. Let me now hand it over to Haroon for an operational review.
Thanks, Ahmed. Operationally, on the production front, we are pleased to end the quarter with higher urea and ammonia output compared to last year, despite the 50-day turnaround in one of Sorfert's ammonia lines. This is testament to our team's extensive efforts to improve our production efficiencies, which have already started to bear fruit. As previously disclosed, we had an active turnaround schedule in 2022, and we are excited to now start to see the benefits of these turnarounds and our broader manufacturing improvement plan, and expect to realize more efficiencies and positive progress over the coming quarters. On the sales front, our own produced sales volumes this quarter were 8% lower compared to Q2 of last year, driven by 19% lower own-produced ammonia sales volumes and 6% lower own-produced urea sales volumes.
Meanwhile, our third-party traded volumes were down 37% compared to the year before, at 148,000 tons. As a result, our overall sales volumes ended the quarter 12% below Q2 last year, mainly due to a high base effect, due to the deferral of shipments, as Ahmed alluded to, from Q1 2022 to Q2 2022. On a H1 basis, Fertiglobe's total own-produced sales volumes were down marginally by 1% compared to H1 2022, driven by a 9% decrease in ammonia own-produced sales volumes and relatively unchanged urea own-produced sales volumes. Traded third-party volumes were down 39%. This led to a total own-produced and traded third-party volumes being down roughly 7% in H1 2023, compared to H1 2022.
Finally, with regards to our commercial strategy, we are pleased to have successfully shipped the two lots to Ethiopia, which were deferred from Q1 2023, at a weighted average price of $650 per ton and have been awarded further shipments in Q3 2023. We continue to emphasize our ability to direct volumes to the highest netback markets through our strategically located platform and centralized distribution capabilities, and expect the reinstatement of urea and ammonia import tariffs into Europe to have a positive impact on our netbacks, given the exemption of Egypt and Algeria-sourced volume. With that, I would like to hand over to Andrew to discuss the financial results in more detail.
Thank you, Haroon. Let me start with some highlights of our performance in Q2 2023, which was impacted, as Ahmed mentioned, by the lower selling prices for our products, as well as the lower sales volumes compared to last year. Our revenues were $552 million in Q2 2023. That's 63% below the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, adjusted EBITDA decreased 72% to $218 million in Q2 2023, compared to $770 million in Q2 2022. That's leading to an adjusted EBITDA margin of 40%, compared to 53% in Q2 last year. The adjusted net income attributable to shareholders was $84 million in Q2 2023, compared to $429 million in the same quarter last year.
... Turning to the balance sheet and cash flow performance. We ended Q2 2023 with a net debt position of $66 million, and that's compared to $287 million of net cash as of 31st December 2022. After the payment of the H2 2022 dividend of $700 million in April. Our balance sheet and free cash conversion capacity, along with the management initiatives discussed before, allow us to continue to balance dividend distributions as well as pursue selected value accretive growth opportunities. Now, our free cash flows before growth CapEx amounted to $60 million in Q2 2023, compared to $789 million in Q2 2022. This is mainly driven by that EBITDA performance during the quarter, as well as working capital outflows and dividends to non-controlling interest and withholding tax. Our Q2 2023 capital expenditures, including growth, were $35 million.
That's compared to $15 million in Q2 2022, of which $31 million was related to maintenance. For 2023, we maintain our guidance for capital expenditures, excluding growth, of $100 million-$130 million, and $160 million, including growth. This is depending on our projects progress and FIDs, of course. We're pleased to announce management's proposal of H1 2023 dividends of at least $250 million, or the equivalent of at least 11 fils per share. The dividends are subject to board approval in September 2023 and are expected to be paid during October 2023.
As a reminder, Fertiglobe has paid a total of $1.45 billion in cash dividends for 2022, and has so far returned $1.8 billion to shareholders since our IPO, positioning the company as one of the highest in the sector in terms of dividend yield. I'll now hand back to Ahmed for our outlook and concluding remarks.
Thanks, Andrew and Haroon. As discussed at the beginning of our call, our medium to long-term outlook for nitrogen remains positive, underpinned by demand recovery, record low inventories, and tightening supply. Grain stocks continue to be at decade lows, driving higher crop futures, leading to favorable farm economics, and thereby incentivizing increases in nitrogen demand and supporting prices. In the shorter term, the new capacity that started and ramped up last year and into the beginning of this year, has largely been absorbed in our view, with limited new supply additions over the next 4 years. To conclude, we are proud of what the team has achieved so far and for its continued support and commitment to the highest standards that allow us to deliver on our targets while adopting industry best practices.
Further, through our low carbon growth projects and initiatives, we reiterate our commitment to delivering on our sustainability agenda and are well-placed to show serious progress towards a more sustainable production footprint for ourselves and others in the value chain. With that, we'll open the line for questions.
Thank you. If you would like to ask a question, please press star followed by one on your telephone keypad. If for any reason you would like to remove that question, please press star followed by two. Again, to ask a question, please press star followed by one. If you have joined us via the web, you may have written submit a written question via the Q&A box on your screen. Our first question today is an audio question from the line of Faisal Al-Azmeh from Goldman Sachs. Faisal, please go ahead. Your line is now open.
Hello, good morning, and thank you for the presentation. This is Walid Juma from Goldman Sachs, just asking a couple of questions on behalf of Faisal Al-Azmeh . First of all, we saw a few news articles on the recent Egyptian urea capacity curtailments. Just wondering, how should we think about that impact of the fertilizer market in general? Second, on your feedstock agreement with Algeria, just wondering, what your thoughts are on that, given that it expires soon. How should we think about that impact as well? Thank you very much.
Thank you, Walid. I'll take the first question with regards to the capacity curtailments that were in the news, and then I'll pass it on to Haroon to talk about the Algeria gas contract. With respect to the the the the news articles in Egypt, and we've kind of we've heard about it elsewhere as well, that there's been significant power demand on back of obviously this very hot weather and the El Niño events, otherwise causing power demand to go up, and in some cases, gas to be redirected into the power space, other and outside of the... and taken away from ammonia. On a macro perspective, that ends up being kind of a lower supply of ammonia and potentially downstream products where that's occurring.
We think that could be occurring in some areas in South Asia and Egypt, potentially in Trinidad. For Fertiglobe specifically, we did see lower gas pressures in Egypt in the month of July. I think I mentioned in the prepared remarks as well, we haven't seen a material effect. We've seen less than a three, you know, in the month of July, less than 3,000 tons of lost production of ammonia. We're running at, you know, the normal rates that we can run at currently. Harun?
Thanks, Ahmed. On, on Algeria, the gas discussions, look, those discussions are still ongoing. Just as a reminder, you know, we signed a 20-year contract starting 2013, and so that contract expires 2033. It's the, it's the price revision that's what's being discussed this year. We can say that, look, any, any new price will be retroactively applied September 10th, so there's no question on actual supply of gas. In, in Algerian context, you know, extensions beyond any contraction date in the contract are quite normal.
As we've also mentioned in the past, you know, Sonatrach, in addition to the gas cost, by virtue of the scrip and enhanced scrip, gets a significantly higher share of the dividend. You know, to put that in context, the dividend payment to Sonatrach that should happen in the next couple of months is in the tune of about $875 million. Again, you know, taking into account the scrip, enhanced scrip, and the gas cost, as we've mentioned in the past, the all-in price to Sonatrach is quite a favorable number from their perspective.
Clear. Thank you.
Thank you. As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press star, followed by one on your telephone keypad. Alternatively, if you have joined us via the web, you may submit a written question via the Q&A box on your screen. There are currently no audio questions waiting, so I'd like to pass it to the management team for any written questions they may have received.
Thank you very much, and thank you all for joining us today. Stay safe, stay cool, and, looking forward to our next discussion.
This concludes today's conference call. Thank you all for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines.