Fertiglobe profits surge on Middle East conflict-driven price spike

Adnoc unit beats estimates as fertiliser prices jump on Strait disruption

May 05, 2026 at 2:19 pm

By Yousef Saba

Dubai — Profits from Fertiglobe, a unit of Abu Dhabi state oil giant Adnoc, surged by 173% in the first quarter as the fertiliser producer benefited from the leap in prices caused by conflict in the Middle East.

The Iran war, which began on February 28, has led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which typically carries about a fifth of the world oil supply and around a third of seaborne fertiliser trade. The closure has led to a surge in prices of commodities, including energy and fertiliser.

Fertiglobe, which is 86.2%-owned by Adnoc, reported income attributable to shareholders of $197.9m, beating analysts’ estimate of $123.84m, according to LSEG data.

The reported figure was boosted by a $52.7m one-off accounting gain linked to an adjustment in the company’s corporate tax rate.

It reported adjusted net profit attributable to shareholders of $145m for the quarter ending March 31, a 98% increase from a year earlier. Revenue rose 32% to $915m.

Global tightness

The company said higher pricing from global tightness in urea and ammonia supply had more than offset a 12% year-on-year fall in its own sales volumes, which it attributed to trade route disruptions from the UAE and a “base effect”, as the first quarter of 2025 included deferred sales from the previous quarter.

CEO Ahmed El-Hoshy said in a statement the performance reflected the company’s resilience, with “strong earnings growth despite a complex operating environment due to the conflict in the Middle East”.

Analysts say for the longer term, high fertiliser prices will encourage farmers to seek other ways to increase yields, but fertiliser remains very hard to replace at scale, and the greatest likelihood of the price surge is reduced harvests, stoking inflation further.

It is unclear how much Adnoc is making from the increase in oil prices, as its core oil business is not publicly listed and it does not report its results.

Beginning in 2017, it raised billions of dollars by listing minority stakes in six of its subsidiaries, including for gas, drilling, retail and logistics as well as fertiliser.