On June 21st, Gelonhui announced its annual business performance. As of the end of March 31, 2024, the total revenue was approximately RMB 3.771 billion, a year-on-year decrease of about 20.2%. The net income attributable to the company's shareholders for the year was RMB 252 million, a decrease of about 37.67% year-on-year. The basic earnings per share was RMB 0.37, and the board of directors recommended a final dividend of RMB 0.061 per share.
The announcement stated that the main reason for the decrease in revenue was the decrease in average selling price of potassium chloride and potassium sulfate. The market selling price of potassium fertilizer products in the 2023 fiscal year was higher due to the uncertainty of global supply of potassium chloride, while the market selling price for the 2024 fiscal year has returned to a lower level. The decrease in net income was mainly due to: (i) the Group's net profit for the eight months ending on November 30, 2023, decreased by about 32% year-on-year, mainly due to the high market selling price of potassium fertilizer products in the 2023 fiscal year due to the uncertainty of global supply of potassium chloride; and (ii) the last quarter of the 2024 fiscal year is the peak season for the Group's business, but the Group's net profit did not rebound with the sales volume of potassium fertilizer products because the market selling price remains weak.
In the 2024 fiscal year, the Group continues to consolidate its position as a leading Chinese potassium fertilizer enterprise, and the overall sales volume of the Group's products and production services increased by 20.1% from approximately 1.444 million tons in the 2023 fiscal year to approximately 1.734 million tons in the 2024 fiscal year. This growth is mainly due to the Group's firm commitment to product quality and its deep understanding of customer needs. In the 2024 fiscal year, the Group sold approximately 1.403 million tons of products to its customers in the 2023 fiscal year, an increase of approximately 237,000 tons or 20.3% from the approximately 1.166 million tons sold to these customers in the 2023 fiscal year. In addition, the Group successfully expanded its customer base and achieved sales of approximately 151,000 tons to three new customers in the 2024 fiscal year.
With the increase in sales volume, the Group's main raw material, potassium chloride, reached a historic high of approximately 1.524 million tons in the 2024 fiscal year. The Group has been operating potassium fertilizer business in China for more than 20 years and has established a complete channel for purchasing potassium chloride, which enables it to obtain stable potassium chloride supply from major overseas potassium fertilizer producers at competitive costs. In addition, in order to further improve the reliability and stability of the supply chain, the Group actively negotiated and signed multiple memorandums of understanding to ensure future supply of potassium chloride, and sought cooperation opportunities with other suppliers to purchase high-quality potassium chloride from different sources.