Qatar Fertiliser Company (Qafco) exceeded by far its planned net profit for the first half of 2005 and is on track to exceed the target set for the whole of the year.

As opposed to the planned mid-year profit of QR481.9 million ($132.37 million), the company netted QR792.8 million falling shy of its annual profit plan of QR945.3 million by a mere QR152.5 million.
The impressive profit was achieved on the heels of the completion of major expansion projects last year and also generously aided by soaring oil and petrochemical prices, a company spokesman said.
In the same six-month period, the company achieved the planned production of a million tonnes of ammonia and is on target to realise its annual planned production of 2.05 million tonnes for the year. Ammonia exports saw a marginal increase of 7,235 tonnes with 237,335 tonnes going overseas against the planned six-month target of 230,100 tonnes.  The company has targeted exports of 472,600 tonnes for the whole year.
In urea, Qafco’s first-half production was 1.44 million tonnes against the planned production of 1.35 million tonnes and 2.77 million tonnes for the whole year. Exports were 1.39 million tonnes, above the planned figure of 1.34 million tonnes. The target for the whole year is 2.7 million tonnes.
The company registered a 2004 net profit of QR942.4 million, up 57 per cent over the previous year 
Qafco’s export markets for ammonia have seen a slight realignment with the Indian market still retaining the top slot at 58 per cent in 2004, which is considerably lower than the figure of 80 per cent of the previous year. Jordan came a distant second with 18 per cent followed by the US market at 13 per cent and Korean market 11 per cent.
Qafco’s export markets for urea saw more variations, with Australia emerging as the major importer with 24 per cent, relegating the US market to the second slot. The US accounted for 18 per cent of Qafco’s exports, followed by Thailand (12 per cent), Philippines 8 per cent, South Africa 7 per cent, New Zealand 6 per cent and Vietnam 5 per cent. Other destinations were Japan, India, Sudan, Sri Lanka, France, Ethiopia, Korea, Mozambique and Taiwan.
Much of this has been achieved by the successful completion of the company’s expansion plans last year. A prominent highlight of 2004 was the inauguration of Qafco’s fourth production train Qafco-4.
The inauguration of the Qafco-4 Expansion project and of the Gulf Formaldehyde Company plant were Qafco’s proudest achievements from last year.
The Qafco-4 plant brought Qafco’s annual production capacity to 2 million tonnes of ammonia and 2.8 million tonnes of urea, boosting ammonia production by 50 per cent and urea production by 65 per cent, and making the company the world’s largest single-site producer of urea.
The Qafco-4 project comprises an ammonia plant with a nameplate production capacity of 2,000 tonnes per day and a urea plant with a designed production capacity of 3,200 tonnes per day, in addition to other support facilities, including a seawater intake system made up of three pumps, each with a capacity of 20,000 cu m/h, a refrigerated double-walled ammonia storage tank of capacity 45,000 tonnes, a urea bulk hall of 160,000 tonnes capacity and a new berth at the jetty.
Inaugurated in March last year at the Mesaieed Industrial City, Gulf Formaldehyde Company was founded as a joint venture between Qafco and some of Qatar’s private sector companies, paving the way for a future partnership between the oil and gas sector and the national private sector. The GFC plant aims to make Qafco self-sufficient in urea formaldehyde, which used to be imported from abroad, and to export the surplus.