Profit soars at Oswal's former empire
The corporate giants that own the Pilbara fertiliser plant developed by Pankaj Oswal near Karratha a decade ago are enjoying windfall profits.
The annual report lodged by Yara Pilbara Fertilisers, which is owned by Norwegian fertiliser giant Yara and US gas provider Apache Energy, discloses that the Burrup Peninsula liquid ammonia plant booked $385.4 million in revenue for the 12 months to December 31, and a net profit of $134.2 million.
Borrowings are down to $195.5 million against a value of total assets of $950.5 million.
The favourable financial performance compares with Yara Pilbara's previous report, which covers the nine months to December 31, 2012 and produced revenue of $241.6 million and a net profit of $69.1 million.
Yara Pilbara ended the 2013 year with $42 million cash, after paying a $30 million dividend to its owners as well as debt repayments.
Yara Pilbara offered little commentary about the Burrup plant's operation beyond disclosing three outages during 2013, which marks the first full year under the joint ownership of Yara and Apache.
The two corporate giants restructured the Burrup plant's ownership in 2012 following a lengthy dispute with Mr Oswal.
Mr Oswal remains mired in legal action with Yara Pilbara as the company's accounts, lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, confirm.
The accounts also reveal that Yara Pilbara remains in a legal battle with the Australian Taxation Office over historic claims of income tax payable. Yara Pilbara, which has taken its battle to the Federal Court, has recognised a $42.9 million provision in its accounts to cover the tax in question as well as interest charges and penalties.
