Chemicals group Omnia managed to grow interim revenue 3% to R7.9bn in the six months to end-September. But a 36% dive in fertilizer operating profit blamed on a breakdown at one of its nitric acid plants resulted in its aftertax profit falling 22% to R258m. Omnia reduced its interim dividend to R1.60 from the matching period’s R1.80, it said in its results statement on Tuesday morning. The group’s biggest sales earner is fertilizer and other agricultural chemicals, contributing 45% of its total revenue. But its biggest profit generator is explosives and other mining chemicals, contributing 61% of its total R457m operating profit. Omnia managed to grow its agricultural division’s revenue 3% to R3.6bn and its mining division’s revenue 9% to R2.5bn, but both their operating profits declined. Its third division, chemicals, was an anomaly in that its revenue declined 6% to R1.9bn but its operating profit grew 4% to R74m.
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