Good afternoon and welcome to the earnings call devoted to the financial performance of Grupa Azoty after 2025. Today's earning call will be conducted online. You can ask your questions using the bot tool under the transmission window. That's where you can find it. We'll try to answer as many of your questions as possible during the conference. First of all, we will start by discussing the financial performance. Our speakers include Marcin Celejewski, President of Management Board, Małgorzata Królak, Vice President, and Artur Chołody, the PhD Vice President.
Good afternoon, everybody. As far as Grupa Azoty is concerned, in our performance after 2025, we have a number of drivers that we want to discuss. This is not a one-sided, simple story. Today's presentation and discussion will be a more in-depth approach to our problems, our challenges, and our outlook for the future. As far as positive news is concerned, this is our second consecutive year of an increase in EBITDA results, which is related to both our costs and revenues. In 2025, consolidated EBITDA came in at PLN 323 million, which represents an improvement on 2024 by over PLN 650 million. This is yet another year, as I said, the second consecutive year, when we are reporting positive EBITDA operating results.
We are generating more and more cash. Our foundations, financial footing is more and more stable. The restructuring measures are bringing results. Among main events in 2025 which impacts our EBITDA result, which are also part of our efforts to strengthen our development growth ambitions, include the agreement with Orlen on Grupa Azoty Polyolefins. We managed to sign a preliminary share purchase agreement. For more details about this transaction and also the effects of it, we will discuss later on. Discussing the background of this transaction and its importance for the entire Grupa Azoty will be discussed by Małgorzata Królak. Our agro segment results. We are seeing efforts increasing, as well as stabilizing EBITDA, growing revenues. These are results of our efforts taken in 2025.
Mr. Chołody will later discuss the very tangible effects of both financial restructuring and business transformation. We are stepping up on accelerating our efforts in order to proceed with both restructuring and transformation programs, but we are already seeing first results. We are regaining our agency over what is going on across the group, and we are very happy to see growing figures for our export sales. Sometimes Europe likes to tend to forget that Grupa Azoty is the second-largest Polish chemical corporation. Our task is to also stabilize food across Europe. In agro, we are talking about 46% for plastics, 75.4% for chemicals, and 5% for engineering. Our products are not only competitive both in terms of our price and also quality, and this is really attractive not only in Poland but also abroad.
Those four events, foundations I would like to focus on, will be the basis of our today's presentation so that you understand where our performance comes from. These were the main events, the main pillars of our business, and we will be focusing our talks on them. Before, however, we move on to a more in-depth discussion, I mentioned that the are not the only transaction that we managed to close 2025 with Orlen. One of historic transactions that will continue to have an impact on all our financial results and also. [Non-English content]
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loans as well as PLN 2.8 billion in additional forms of funding. To create a single job across Grupa Azoty Polyolefins, we would need to spend over PLN 25 million. This was not an investment per se. It was a grandiose obsession which almost destroyed the entire group and put at risk all the 23,000 of jobs. We decided to notify the prosecutor's office of the potential large scale risk or losses due to the actions taken by previous Management Board and their very bad investment decisions between 2014 and 2023. The consequences need to be there. We, as the Management Board, are not here to focus on that. We are here to restructure and to amend the situation.
We signed a historic agreement with our creditors. We worked on a very strategic agreement with Orlen related to the offering and preliminary share purchase agreement. We're talking about PLN 6 billion, of which PLN 4.7 billion from outside of Grupa Azoty will be resolved under this transaction. PLN 1 billion will be repaid under a part of the price paid by Orlen, and the rest are the remaining borrowings and other payables. PLN 2 billion from the EPC contractor, PLN 200 million from the subordinate loan, and more millions from the purchase of equity that has been solved in the restructuring agreement. Sales of Polimery Police saved Grupa Azoty, and it reduced our debt by PLN 4.7 million.
This takes the burden off our shoulder and also removes other risks worth PLN 2.8 billion. This radically changes our negotiation position. This protects jobs and allows us to be back on the right track, and you can see the right track in our 2025 performance. Let's look at the operating foundation of this. In 2023, our EBIT, there was catastrophic minus PLN 1.6 billion. In 2024, we reduced that to minus PLN 330 million. Today, after our recovery program for 2025, we report a positive EBITDA of plus PLN 323 million. If you add [clear four] of Polyolefins, EBITDA goes up to PLN 315 million. That's a very good and consistent growth track. Of course, the net result is still minus PLN 5.2 billion. As professionals and investors, you know what that means.
That means write-off of the huge costs of the past. That's the final purification of the balance sheet of the Polimery Police project. That was a painful yet necessary movement. This means something unprecedented. It reduces total exposure of the group from 21 to PLN 18 billion, reduce the debt by PLN 4.7 billion, that's 25%. Total risk exposure has been reduced by PLN 7.5 billion, which is 35%. After the AP restructuring, the value of the debt will stabilize at PLN 13.5 million, and we can safely move on to the next stage of restructuring. Full balancing result of that debt will be seen after we close the Orlen deal, which is expected to come in the third quarter of this year.
What we are presenting to you is not only a report from a challenging task, it is also proof that we are responsible, and we feel responsible for the assets of the nation, and we're ready to take the most difficult decisions. We have saved the group from the emergency room. We have made brave surgeries, and we are holding accountable those who have taken the company to the brink of extinction. We have removed billions of toxic debt. We focus on our core business. We focus on exporting ambition in our key sectors of chemicals and petrol, as the CEO mentioned. We are very grateful for your attention and for being with us in this key year, and I'll be available for you for the Q&A session now. Back to Mr. Celejewski.
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As I said, this presentation will have many dimensions to it and Ms Królak gives you a more detailed look at one of the pillars which luckily.
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We have dealt with successfully, all the other consequences of the polyolefins project are still with us. One of our main goals is stabilization. However, when we move on to the more positive news, we must not forget that our 2025 performance.
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As I mentioned, was affected by a good quality product. As you can see, Azoty products, well, half of those products are sold domestically, and the other half they're exported outside Poland. We are a recognizable brand globally, selling to all continents in the world.
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Those eight years that Ms. Królak has just discussed, those eight years were largely lost. We missed an opportunity to promote our business, to promote local content. Most of the energy and the pre-management went to a gigantic investment that left us with this major debt. I would like to give the floor to Mr. Chołody who will walk you through the details of our 2025 performance. Please bear that in mind that we are moving on to the positive news about Azoty and the group.
Right. Let me move on to the details. As you can see, our revenues from 2023 to 2025 have been relatively stable of over PLN 13 billion. With the same revenues, our EBITDA is clearly different on year.
In 2025, compared 2025 to 2023, it's nearly PLN 1.7 billion difference. This shows you a better efficiency, cost improvement, better cost performance, which for which the credits go our staff. Thanks to them, we managed to improve our performance significantly. Now, the drivers, the key drivers of our EBITDA, if you look at our core operations across all of them, we have better performance in agro. That change over to the core is almost PLN 400 million. In plastics, it's more than PLN 200 million and more than PLN 100 million chemicals. In total, that's PLN 650 million difference of EBITDA between 2025 and 2024. Lastly, there was a strong impact from one-off events, mostly related to the polymers project.
In 2025, we were still cleaning up the most challenging problems. However, in 2026, we will start for even better performance for thin sheet. Now, in agro, 2025 was the powerhouse of our business with more than PLN 400 million better revenue, EBITDA. Our sales volume grew by 14%. Our EBIT margin grew by 4.6%. We also introduced some new products. We modernized our plants to improve efficiency and reduce the cost of producing our fertilizers. We also launched new sales directions for our products. A few examples of major drivers that affected our performance. One fantastic example is COMPO EXPERT. That's our international asset that is present across the world in tens of countries across all four continents.
This particular asset has been growing at a steady rate, both in terms of revenues and EBITDA. For net results, we have a small dip in 2025, but it was still positive. In 2026, we expect an even better performance from growth. Most importantly, we want Grupa Azoty to become an actual part of Azoty. We want to work out and use all the synergies in sales, in technological development, in procurement, because together we are much more powerful globally. Another nice example is Azoty Siarkopol. Here we have two trends that collided last year. First one was restructuring in Siarkopol, which allowed us to reduce our fixed costs. In the second half of the year, sulfur prices went up, which allowed Siarkopol to break even both in terms of EBITDA and net results.
We delivered positive results after the strongly negative results in 2024. Towards the end of 2025, our results skyrocketed because of the global changes in the sulfur market, especially after the crisis, the outbreak of the crisis in the Gulf. The performance of Siarkopol in 2026 will be even better for the whole group. Now a quick comment on the detailed part of our different business segments. As Mr. Chołody mentioned, our workhorse is the main pillar of our strategy. I'm of course referring to the agro sector. In 2025, we had a few positive phenomena. Some of those included or were caused by a proactive change to our sales policy.
We began experimenting with prices and with the structure and quite importantly, these proactive measures, even though they were not very thorough, this is something that makes us very optimistic about the future. The price is slightly larger, this actually accelerated the sales of our basic products. I've mentioned that before, but I'm very proud of all people in our group, and all the people in our group should be very proud of this performance because all our products are good quality. As I mentioned repeatedly, our products are sold domestically and internationally. We have huge potential to become a great example of local content, a fancy word recently often mentioned by the Prime Minister of Poland, because in our group we unite farmers and the chemical industry.
In this way, we build value that has the potential to win in Western markets. As Mr. Chołody has already mentioned, our margin is now much higher on those products. As I mentioned, this is without any reduction in our sales volume. Our factories keep producing, they keep working. They work 24/7 to provide the availability of products to all farmers, especially in Poland, all farmers who would like to use our products. Farmers in Poland, in Europe, and beyond.
As far as chemicals and plastics segments are concerned, the situation is pretty different. We are looking at many years of pressure from Asian markets who are pushing away, and producers who are pushing away European producers. What we focus on is how to reduce the losses generated in both those segments. Despite lower volumes and lower revenues, we managed to substantially, radically decrease those losses, which positively impacted our EBITDA. For both segments, chemicals and plastics, we have seen since the beginning of 2026 that the chemicals and plastics segments are rebounding in Poland as we speak. We have no European competitors because in the meantime, a number of chemical units and producers closed down or put their production on hold.
In 2026, we see that those two segments will generate much, much better results than in 2025, and we will work on that. Especially in terms of plastics, we will work on cost reduction in terms of Polimery Police project specifically. We will still have certain costs from 2025, but in 2026, we might see some revenues on the back of synergies that we will generate in Police. All in all, if we look at segment results, we see an uptrend practically across the board, and we see that the volumes of sales for agro are growing to wherever we see any decreases, that is a sign that we do have international competition and we could not grow in this particular areas.
All in all, our EBITDA is in the green above the line. We have managed to increase EBITDA, and this is yet another step that we have taken in order to rebound and regain our position, not only in Poland, but also across Europe. Moving on to the last part of today's earnings call before the Q&A session, obviously you'll still have time to ask us a number of questions later on. As I said at the very beginning, we have some news to share, which will shed a different light on Grupa Azoty. We have to bear in mind that we have taken the first major step in the stabilization process, as Mrs. Królak mentioned, and also something that Mr. Chołody discussed.
This is already visible in our balance sheet, bottom line and data for 2025. Still, the restructuring of our all other payables that we still have in the group is ahead of us. This was due to the Polyolefin project. Thanks to a very reasonable approach of the financing institutions, which we keep close contacts with, we do hope that this process will be successful, and it will move towards a more positive direction. We will focus on our transformation, our growth, initiatives and processes. Speaking of which, in my opinion, in our opinion, when we analyze the effects of transformation efforts to date, then we still have a gigantic potential.
These are long-term benefits that will eventually translate into the streamlining of the functioning of the group, but also into financial results and further dynamic growth. We have taken a number of efforts already to launch these programs. What programs we're talking about? Operational and organizational transformation, which is based mainly on centralization of processes and management. We are looking at the 54 companies across the group as if they were one single organism. Right now, we are not tapping into all the synergies that we could tap into. We do not use all the opportunities. Those companies, so those business units are oftentimes functioning separately based on the regulations in force, which sometimes, oftentimes, prevents us from taking fast-track decisions.
From our perspective as a management board, but also objectively speaking, it is a major problem for the management and the boards of individual companies as well. There are certain decisions that could be taken to the benefit of the group as a whole, but in reality, they are very difficult to take for entities that function as separate companies or separate listed companies sometimes. Therefore, we have this first pillar in order to flatten the organizational structure across the group for all the 54 companies to streamline the work of all the managements, but also to make sure that everybody feels safe and feels part of this big family while focusing on their core competencies.
Therefore, we want to create certain framework in order to streamline and simplify the management of all 54 companies across the group, which will accelerate the progress of all our plans. Secondly, as of the business program, something that Mr. Chołody has already mentioned. We are focusing on proactive initiatives in order to cut costs or to and/or to increase efficiency. This program brought tangible results in 2025, and we want to continue it, but also to take a deeper dive into it. Thirdly, process and production transformation. We want to look at all our group assets as a single company's assets. A single company that needs to implement unified plans.
We have appointed an intergroup team, bringing together top specialists and experts and also independent advisors who want to know the group, but can take a look from outside of the group in terms of the efficiency, in terms of the margins, in order to implement and roll out this model as quickly as possible and to reduce the outflows of necessary outflows of cash and stop ineffective production. You can imagine easily that within such a group as Grupa Azoty that brings together 54 companies, the fact that we sometimes don't look or didn't look, speaking of former management boards, at this group as if it were a one single organism, was to the detriment of the company as a whole or the group as a whole.
That means that all those companies, the 455, 54 units did not cooperate, did not add any synergies to the group as a whole. They would be focusing on their company separately. That means that we did not have overall control of these processes. This is one of the major pillars that should function smoothly in a group such as ours. Our approach, we approach it very seriously, and we want to see in the second half of the year, maybe not in the second quarter, but in the second half of the year, to see a very tangible plan for transformation for processes and production.
Optimization of our assets portfolio and asset base, which is combined with the optimization and transformation obviously, could turn out that when we review all the companies or the assets, all the pro-efficiency initiatives, it might turn out that there are certain assets that either do not fit within our core business, which we talked about before, and we will create a list of such units, such assets, or maybe even single physical elements, components that could be divested. This will give us a starting point to stabilize our financial situation or also to stabilize our debt. We do not, we cannot forget about our debts. Last but not least, top line.
The revenue figure, we want to strengthen and professionalize the management over all our sales channels across all our segments, which will also include something we mentioned last month, the creation of a marketplace platform, but not only digital platform. This will be a physical platform, which is meant to integrate all the entire value chain around agricultural production. Grupa Azoty, as you have heard, it's a global company. It's not only Polish or European, but it's global. The group ensures food security for Poles and outside of Poland as well.
While cooperating with our partners, with the farmers, with advisors and the suppliers, we are able to create a strong local content umbrella, which will strengthen our position, but also improve food security and give Polish farmers a chance for or a starting point for international expansion as well. This is a very complicated and difficult project, but we started the work on this project already, and we want to see the first results of our efforts already in 2026. You have already heard from us today that we're here in order to dynamically change and transform Grupa Azoty in order for it to regain its position in Poland and in Europe and around the world as well.
For this, we need to focus on the restructuring process, and this is why we're here. I hope that what that the results that we will discuss after 2026 will show us the efficiency of our efforts and the effects of our efforts. That will be all from my side. If you don't have anything to add, then the floor is over to Grzegorz to start the Q&A session.
Okay. Now for the Q&A session. The first two questions are related to polyolefins. Ms. Królak will take them. After you sell polyolefins, how much the debt will be reduced, and what does it mean for the group as a whole?
Well, as we already showed at the presentation, the debt will be reduced by PLN 4.7 billion. That's 25% down from PLN 18.7 billion. Now it will go down to PLN 13.7 billion. The Orlen deal itself, what does it give us? Well, first of all, it allows us to avoid GEP bankruptcy, which would question the future operations of that asset. It would also have very strong liquidity consequences. By avoiding bankruptcy, we avoided those consequences.
Another area is the repayment of roughly PLN 50 million of debt as part of our composition. Finally, the revenues from either the supply of utilities or consumption of hydrogen or the provision of services to GEP. Last but not least, participation in earn-out mechanism. That's share in the future profits of Polimery Police, a kind of a dividend in case the project is successful in the future. Thank you.
Two more questions to Mr. Chołody. The first one is as follows: The plastics segment shrank by 40% year-over-year. Why is that, and what's your idea for recovery? Another question, chemicals and plastics, can they break even at the EBITDA level this year?
Right. When it comes to 2025, we saw a continuation of the expansion of Asian companies that do not suffer the cost of ETS or other environmental norms. They have more affordable energy, and that means more affordable chemistry and more affordable plastics. This year we have a very good movement, and market trends have been somewhat reversed because of the disruption of supply chain. Perhaps not much disruption, the supply chains became much more challenging. That's why European buyers have been looking for sources in Europe, and there are only a few of those, and our production plants are among them. This is why we have seen a growing sales in OXO alcohols, pigments, and plastics. All those segments have seen a considerable improvement.
Towards the end of last year, we only expected to reduce our losses by a half compared to those in 2025. If the macroeconomic situation continues, we can even try to break even in terms of EBITDA on those on those businesses.
You mentioned that the company focuses on agro. What's the effect of the situation in the Strait of Hormuz on your sales of fertilizers? What will happen to fertilizer prices, do you have any new sections?
Well, the war and the situation at the Strait of Hormuz had a very powerful impact on our business. The situation was quite challenging because gas prices skyrocketed. Conversely, we saw opportunities for actions both within the group and beyond.
We set up some task forces, some teams specializing in analyzing the production and the prices of gas. Those teams reports to us daily. They monitor global trends. They also produced some scenarios that were then translated into our manufacturing decisions. The situation did not limit our production output. Even with the current prices, we still continue to deliver our production volumes, and we also set up a new sales team that's probably closely with our gas team and our prices were adapted in a rather smooth rather than abrupt fashion.
When it comes to the to the future prospects, well, we will know more after the closure of the first quarter, but from the operational perspective, all I can say is that we implemented new processes that optimize our production, our purchasing or procurement decisions, and our planning, production planning decisions and pricing decisions. That's a very good contribution and as we will discuss when we meet to memorize the first quarter. Actually something that looked quite perilous in the beginning now seems rather positive for the group also when it comes to our actual performances. Quite importantly, we are a public listed company, so we take care of our performance, but we need to see the big picture, the long-term horizon.
If you're limited to the short-term horizon, and you speculate, taking the opportunity of the day, well, that's not exactly the way to go. We, as a group, want to stabilize the market. We want to have steady revenues at a certain level, and we do that because we feel responsible. When you change the perspective, this sense of responsibility translates immediately in long-term economic horizon. Now, lessons learned from situation in Hormuz. Well, we learned our lesson and we passed the exam in flying colors and we showed to everyone, including our partners, that it is important to have a long-term view on fertilizer prices. That it's important to consolidate value, to build strength of the country and the group, using our current position.
This is the direction our top-line project goes to and we hope to attract more and more partners to the project soon.
Thank you. One more question to you. Since you are the CEO of Azoty Puławy as well, what is the future of the power unit in Puławy?
Well, let me finish my previous answer first. The sense of responsibility for stabilizing the region is taking place at a time when there is a lot of talk of suspending tariffs and CBAM. Quite importantly, one of the aspects of fairness and competitiveness that the EU should take care of is ensuring level playing field and the tariffs on Russian and Belarusian fertilizers. Fertilizers from countries that can apply much high margins because they have access to cheaper gas. Those tariffs are the least the EU should do to provide a level playing field. The same thing is CBAM. We, as a Polish European manufacturer, we follow all regulations related to ETS.
When we think about stability and strength and consolidation, it is important to remember that everything that is happening in the market should be in line with ensuring a level playing field for everyone. Coming back to the coal-fired power units, that's obviously a very difficult situation. That's yet another oversized investment, not as much as the polyolefins, but again, instead of a gas-fired power unit, we have a coal-fired unit that has never been commissioned and the contractor has left the site and Azoty Puławy fully financed the project. Right now we are waiting for the completion of it and hopefully the units will start working. There is an official formal dispute. We filed for a reimbursement of PLN 500 million, so either reimbursement or completing the project.
Earlier this year, the contractor also sued us, which is an absurd lawsuit because they are asking for the last payment, the last installment, and the last installment depends on ensuring adequate operating parameters. Obviously, we can't pay the last installment because the power unit has not even completed internal acceptance tests and the contractor has left the site, so it would be absurd to pay the last installment. To me, this lawsuit from the contractor, it seems like clutching at straws. In other words, it seems to me that mediation will start soon, and we will be looking for the most advantageous way of completing the project. We have done some preliminary talks, and we hope the mediation will take place by the end of June.
Now a question to Ms. Królak: What are the main investment goals of Azoty for the next couple of years?
Well, our investment decisions in the group that will be taken in the months and years to come are based on the need to sustain the competitiveness of our key manufacturing plants. Given the financial situation of the group, in the most recent years and the impact of Polimery Police on the availability of investment budget in other plants, this is something that requires our attention. We will be investing in operational and process excellence. We will be investing in energy transition. Quite importantly, the group has some logistic assets of unique standing, for instance, in the Police chemical plant, and developing these assets is one of our priorities. Thank you.
The last question that will summarize the meeting. What are the biggest challenges for the group?
Invariably, the greatest challenge is to stabilize the financial situation of Grupa Azoty. The project that we have discussed in detail today, polyolefin, has been largely restructured, but this irresponsible debt, which was taken in years prior, instead of investing in the core business where Grupa Azoty is an absolute leader, both in Poland and in Europe, this has been voiced today quite clearly, calls for stabilization efforts. We have 13 financing institution in the process and a couple of partners, so we need to stabilize the situation in order for us to focus entirely and 100% on our growth, that is agro and improvement of plastics and chemicals.
Also something that is really important, something that has been mentioned, we need to focus on the process transformation to make sure that we tap into all synergies across the group. One challenge is to complete stabilization. When we have done that, you can rest assured that this group will grow because the results that we present for 2025 and the outlook that we discussed for 2026 and onwards, I'm sure that this will bring fruit, very tangible effects already in 2026. The top line that consolidates the agricultural market and that strengthens and consolidates all the participants of the agricultural market in order for them to expand internationally is there, and the group can be a leader there.
Without financial stabilization, it's difficult for us to focus on business growth because this means limitations in investments.
Thank you very much for your answers. Thank you for the participation in this earnings call. We are very good time-wise. We will see you again on the 28th of May, when we will publish our financial results for the first quarter. Thank you very much.