Fertiglobe refinances its outstanding $900m bridge facility

Abu Dhabi-listed company also increased the capacity of its currently undrawn revolving credit facility from $300m to $600m

A Fertiglobe plant. The Abu Dhabi-based company is the largest nitrogen fertiliser producer in the Mena region. Photo: Fertiglobe

Fertiglobe, the world’s largest seaborne exporter of urea and ammonia combined, on Friday said it is refinancing its outstanding $900 million bridge facility, originally due in 2024, with new three-year ($300 million) and five-year ($600 million) term facilities.

The company, a joint venture between Adnoc and Netherlands-listed OCI, also increased the capacity of its currently undrawn revolving credit facility (RCF) from $300 million to $600 million and extended the facility’s maturity from 2026 to 2027, it said in a regulatory filing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.

Fertiglobe, the largest nitrogen fertiliser producer in the Middle East and North Africa region, said its third-quarter net profit more than doubled as it benefitted from a rise in selling prices.

Net profit attributable to shareholders for the three-month period to the end of September climbed to about $291.6 million, from $137.7 million recorded a year earlier, the company said last month.

Fertiglobe raised about $795 million from its initial public offering on the ADX last year, amid strong demand from international, regional and local investors. It announced a dividend of $700 million for the second half of 2022.

The new capital structure bolsters Fertiglobe’s flexibility to pursue growth opportunities, while maintaining an attractive dividend profile and investment grade credit ratings, the bourse filing on Friday said.

The new term facilities carry attractive margins of 150 basis points and 175bps, respectively, the company said, adding that the margin on the RCF has been reduced to 140bps compared to the previous facility margin of 175bps.

“Both transactions were heavily oversubscribed, demonstrating the strong support of Fertiglobe’s expanded bank group and the company’s current leverage and cash flow profile which position it well to maintain an attractive dividend profile and also pursue growth opportunities in the future,” Fertiglobe said.

The refinancing agreement extends the company’s weighted average debt maturity from 1.3 years to 4.3 years and provides ample liquidity, it added.

The production capacity Abu Dhabi-based Fertiglobe, which is incorporated in Abu Dhabi Global Market, comprises 6.7 million tonnes of urea and merchant ammonia, produced at four subsidiaries in the UAE, Egypt and Algeria, making it the largest producer of nitrogen fertilisers in Mena.