At Grupa Azoty POLICE, a decision was made to launch a project to construct Europe’s largest and most advanced PDH unit for propylene production, being the Grupa Azoty Group’s largest project to date. The PLN 1.7bn CAPEX project will involve the construction of a propylene production unit, together with power generating units and a liquid chemicals handling terminal at the Police port facilities. Ultimately, the terminal will serve the largest LPG vessels in Poland, with its capacity expected to double. The project is scheduled for completion within the next four years, with its first effects on the financial performance to be seen in 2019. It is expected to ultimately add ca. PLN 2bn to the Group’s revenue and hundreds of millions of złoty to its profit. Some 1,000 staff will work on the project construction site, and following its commercial launch the plant will give permanent employment to around 200 people.

On May 19th 2015, Grupa Azoty POLICE, Polskie Inwestycje Rozwojowe S.A. (PIR) and Grupa Azoty KĘDZIERZYN entered into a cooperation agreement, where the parties expressed their intent to collaborate on the feasibility assessment of joint implementation of a project: PDH propylene production unit and related infrastructure.

Negotiations of a detailed cooperation agreement will commence after PIR or Grupa Azoty KĘDZIERZYN obtain a positive preliminary investment decision and after the terms and conditions of the decision are provisionally accepted by Grupa Azoty POLICE.

On July 1st 2015, the commencement act was signed and set in, marking the groundbreaking ceremony for the second fertilizer granulation plant – the largest project currently under way in the fertilizer segment in Tarnów. The project will help enhance the product portfolio, while doubling the production capacities of Saletrosan® (ammonium sulfate nitrate) and other mechanically granulated fertilizers.

On September 21st 2015, the commencement act for a new polyamide 6 (PA6) unit was signed. The project, worth PLN 320m, will allow Grupa Azoty to expand its annual PA6 production capacities to 170 thousand tonnes.

On February 6th 2015, the Grupa Azoty Group and PKO BP S.A. executed a strategic cooperation agreement whereby the bank agreed to provide financing for the Group’s financial partners from the agricultural and food industry, and the parties agreed to use the Group’s fertilizer distribution network to sell banking products and engage in joint marketing activities targeted at agricultural producers.

“Grounded in knowledge” is the title of a three-year research programme carried out nationwide by the Grupa Azoty Group and its partner PKO Bank Polski, to measure pH and nutrient content of soils in Poland. Under the programme, the companies plan to reach almost 2,000 farms across Poland and have 28 thousand soil samples tested by Regional Agrochemical Stations.

The financing for the first stage of the strategic investment projects was secured through a PLN 2.2bn long-term credit facility package, which is to finance the Group’s general corporate needs envisaged in the Grupa Azoty Group’s Strategy and Investment Programme until 2020, including its plans to expand into new regional markets.

A credit facility of PLN 1.5bn was provided by a consortium of PKO S.A., BGK, BZ WBK S.A. and ING BSK S.A. under a consortium agreement of April 23rd 2015. The facility is repayable by April 2020.

The remaining part will be financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) pursuant to a PLN 700m long-term financing agreement, executed at the EBRD London headquarters on May 28th 2015. The agreement provides for ten-year credit facilities (repayable in June 2015) of PLN 550m and PLN 150m, to be granted by the EIB and the EBRD, respectively.

On April 29th 2015, Grupa Azoty KĘDZIERZYN placed in service a new non-phthalic plasticizer unit and expanded its product mix with Oxoviflex™, the first Polish non-phthalic plasticizer. The new product is a response to the growing demand for innovative solutions for the PVC processing market. Thanks to the most advanced plasticizer unit in this part of Europe, Grupa Azoty KĘDZIERZYN will be able to produce 50,000 tonnes of Oxoviflex™ per year.

Oxoviflex™ gained recognition from the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, which named it the Polish Product of the Future.

On October 15th, Grupa Azoty PUŁAWY officially launched a unit for the production of PULGRAN® / PULGRAN®S fertilizers, the final project under the new fertilizer complex programme worth over PLN 450m in total.

The new fertilizer complex is the largest project implemented by Grupa Azoty PUŁAWY in recent years and one of Europe’s most advanced solid fertilizer production units. The first phase of the complex was ready in 2013. The units placed in service that year included Europe’s first and the world’s third ammonia-based wet flue gas desulfurization unit, a unit for the production of liquid fertilizers with sulfur content, and a logistics centre for granulated fertilizers.

With the new units, the company will be able to extend its product chain in the fertilizers business and strengthen its lead in the market for urea fertilizers. The project budget totalled PLN 137.5m. The production plant built under the project includes a PULGRAN®/PULGRAN®S pastillation unit.

On November 25th 2015, a UAN fertilizer unit together with logistics facilities and a modernised fertilizer storage facility were officially placed in service at Grupa Azoty KĘDZIERZYN.

The new unit’s annual capacity will reach 100 thousand tonnes. UAN is a highly concentrated nitrogen fertilizer in the form of a water solution of urea and ammonium nitrate, which is in great demand on the market. The solution comes in three varieties (with 28%, 30% and 32% nitrogen content), tailored to various temperatures for transportation and storing. The logistics facilities are an important element of the completed project, bringing the company into the Group’s liquid fertilizer distribution network. Integration of UAN sales from the Kędzierzyn-Koźle and Puławy plants will allow the Group to maximise synergies.

On March 4th 2015, the Parent was selected to feature in the prestigious FTSE Emerging Markets index. The Parent stock has been listed in the index since March 23rd 2015. The FTSE Emerging Markets index is part of the FTSE Global Equity Index Series (GEIS), which includes large and mid cap securities from advanced and secondary emerging markets. With a universe of 911 companies from all over the world, including 30 CEE names, the index provides investors with a comprehensive means of measuring the performance of the most liquid companies in emerging markets. Its aggregate net market capitalisation is close to USD 3,400bn. The FTSE indices are listed on the London Stock Exchange.

On March 12th 2015, the Grupa Azoty Rescue Education Centre (CERGA) launched its operations. CERGA is a modern unit responsible for cyclic and specialist training of firefighters and chemical rescuers working for the Grupa Azoty Group. Its operations cover the Parent, Grupa Azoty PUŁAWY, Grupa Azoty POLICE, Grupa Azoty KĘDZIERZYN, Grupa Azoty SIARKOPOL, and other entities interested in the educational offering. The idea behind the establishment of CERGA has been to support the development of common fire protection and rescue standards, share experience and exploit synergies across the Grupa Azoty Group.

In September 2015, Grupa Azoty became member of Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs based in London, which networks over 300 companies representing the financial, industrial, health, power, telecommunications and commercial sectors, as well as major embassies, international organisations and universities. Grupa Azoty is its first partner from Central and Eastern Europe.