Iofina PLC says iodine market back to pre-pandemic levels

Iofina is currently in the strongest position it has ever been, both operationally and financially

CEO Tom Becker

What does the company do?

Put simply, () extracts iodine from brine water, a byproduct of onshore oil and gas production in the US.

The company is the second-largest producer of iodine in North America and comprises three entities: Iofina Resources, Iofina Chemical and IofinaEX.

The AIM-listed group‘s strategy is to identify, develop, build, own and operate iodine extraction plants based on its well-head extraction technology.

IofinaEX has been set up to produce cannabidiol (CBD), the non-psychoactive ingredient of cannabis.

How’s Iofina performing?

In an update in April, Iofina said there has been a strong recovery in the iodine market with demand at pre-pandemic levels.

A backlog of deferred orders pushed first-quarter sales of its crystalline end-product to record levels, investors were told.

Spot prices for the element, which is used in pharmaceuticals and disinfectants, printing inks and dyes, are expected to be in the range of US$34-$37 per kilo in the second quarter – similar to the levels seen this time last year.

The market update came alongside first-quarter production numbers, which revealed output was 108.2 metric tonnes (MT) in the first three months.

That was lower than the same period last year (129.7MT), ostensibly because of the “abnormal extreme weather” for the first two weeks of February.

What the CEO says, Tom Becker

“This quarter, Iofina has seen excellent sales for our crystalline iodine and speciality chemical products, a testament to the company’s resilience and ability to capitalise on market recovery as we and the wider economy emerge from the challenging COVID-19 period.

“Despite seeing lower production this quarter due to factors outside of our control, we were pleased with the sales figure for the period and are particularly encouraged to see the strong state of the iodine market and its recovery.”

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