Maaden boosts production, sales of phosphate unit: CEO

Robert Wilt CEO of Maaden

Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Maaden) increased the production and sales volumes of its core phosphate business unit in the first quarter of 2023 and delivered another period of strong cash generation, said CEO Robert Wilt.

"This was despite softer commodity prices, which impacted our topline performance and profitability compared to last year," Wilt said in his commentary on Q1 2023 financials.

He said that Maaden continues to make progress to optimize existing operations and bring new projects online, adding Ammonia 3 production is ramping up towards nameplate capacity.

"The wider Phosphate 3 project is on track. The aluminum pot relining at Ras Al Khair is progressing as planned and Mansourah-Massarah, our largest project to date, remains set to commence commercial production in the second half of 2023," the top executive noted.

Maaden reported a net profit of SAR 419.4 million for Q1 2023, a slump of 81% from SAR 2.17 billion in the prior-year period, according to data available with Argaam.