PolyOne announces record Q4 and full year 2012 results

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PolyOne Corporation reported USD679.4 million of revenues for the fourth quarter of 2012, a 6% increase compared to USD640.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, said company in its press release.

Diluted earnings per share totaled USD0.03 in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to USD0.13 in the fourth quarter of 2011. Adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 17% to USD0.21 for the fourth quarter of 2012, compared to USD0.18 in the fourth quarter last year.

Full-year revenues in 2012 increased 4.5% to USD3.0 billion, compared to USD2.9 billion in 2011. Diluted earnings per share totaled USD0.80 for the full year 2012, compared to USD1.83 per diluted share in 2011. Adjusted earnings per diluted share for 2012 increased 18% to USD1.20 compared with USD1.02 reported for 2011.

"I am pleased with our fourth quarter results, as we expanded adjusted EPS by 17% over the fourth quarter of 2011. This is a record fourth quarter with adjusted EPS of USD0.21, marking PolyOne's thirteenth consecutive quarter of year-over-year double-digit adjusted earnings per share growth," said Stephen D. Newlin, chairman, president and chief executive officer. "The fourth quarter caps another strong year of performance by PolyOne. For the full year, each of our three strategic platforms achieved record levels of operating income and operating margins, despite recessionary conditions in Europe."

As MRC wrote earlier, PolyOne Corporation, a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, in late 2012 bought Glasforms, Inc., a leading manufacturer of glass and carbon fiber reinforced polymers and advanced composite products.

PolyOne Corporation is a global provider of specialized polymer materials, services, and solutions. PolyOne is a provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, polymer distribution and specialty vinyl resins.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Last year Russia's production of caustic soda increased by 53,000 tonnes, up 5% from 2011, but it has not reached the pre-crisis level, according MRC ScanPlast.

In 2012 the production of caustic soda by Russian enterprises rose by 53,000 tonnes, up 5% year on year, and amounted to 1.095 mln tonnes.

Despite the increase of the output Russian producers still did not manage to reach the pre-crisis peak. Russian plants showed maximum production of caustic in 2007 - 1.3 mln tonnes.

After 2007, the production of caustic soda in Russia was falling four consecutive years. Amid the drop in production the exports to foreign markets decreased and imports of material increased. This year situation can change the downtrend.

Largest producer of caustic soda in Russia remains Kaustik, Volgograd. The share of the plant in the Russia's total production of caustic soda last year was 19%. In 2012 the plant produced 221,310 tonnes of caustic soda. Sayanskhimpalast is the second largest producer of caustic soda in the country.

The share of the plant was about 18% of the production of the material in Russia. The third place belongs to Kaustik, Sterlitamak - 17%. The remaining 46% (503 tonnes) provided other market participants.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In 2012, the plastic industry of Vietnam posted a year-on-year growth of over 42.2% in exports with total revenue of USD1.98 billion, reports the Vietnam Plastics Association (VPA), according to USindustrysourcing.

As per VPA, export value of plastic products is estimated at some USD1.58 billion last year, growing 17% year-on-year. Meanwhile, exports of plastic materials brought home about USD397 million, up by over 60.5% in volume and 62.6% in value, the association said.

According to VPA, the high export value of plastic materials reflects the development of material production at home.

Exports of plastic bags contributed the highest revenue with more than USD456 million or 28.9% of the total.

In the near future, plastic bags will be replaced with biodegradable ones globally, VPA said. As MRC reported earlier, cities in a number of Asian countries, including China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan, are currently on the warpath against plastic shopping bags. But the association forecasts the 2013 export turnover of the product to grow further, citing rising demand from foreign buyers.

Japan, the United States and Germany are the three major markets of Vietnamese plastic products, with Japan being the largest importer in the past five years with the highest export value growth recorded in 2012, up 14 % over 2011 and accounting for 22.6%.

VPA expects growth of this year’s plastic product export at an average of 11-13.5%.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS ChlorVinyls announces the following list prices effective from 1st February 2013 in the following range, said company in its press release.

Pipe suspension PVC delivered in bulk in Europe is offered at EUR990/tonne.
Pipe suspension PVC delivered in bulk in UK/Ireland is offered at GBR900/tonne.

As MRC wrote earlier, INEOS Europe has entered into 15-years shipping agreements with Evergas for the transportation of ethane into Europe from the US Mariner East project. Under the agreements, Evergas will build and operate new customised vessels that will be dedicated to the transportation of ethane from Marcus Hook, US to Rafnes, Norway.

INEOS Group, Ltd. manufactures and distributes petrochemicals, specialty chemicals, and oil products in the world. It offers chlorine, caustic soda, chlorinated, paraffins, derivatives, biodiesel, sulphur, ethanol, salt, brine, esters, ammonia, nitric acid, films and compounds, PVC compounds, PVC films, PET films, resins, melamine, acrylonitrile, olefins and polymers, borealis, ethylene, propylene, aromatics, polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene oxide, glycol, formaldehyde and derivatives, diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, and phenol.

The company was formerly known as JAR Group Limited and changed its name to INEOS Group, Ltd. in April 1998. INEOS Group, Ltd. was founded in 1998 and is based in Lyndhurst, United Kingdom.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Technip was awarded engineering and procurement contracts by Westlake Chemical Corporation for the expansion and modernization of the ethylene cracking furnaces and the recovery section of Westlake’s ethylene plant in Calvert City, Kentucky, according to the company's press release.

The ethylene production capacity will be increased by 40 percent - from 450 million pounds per year to 630 million pounds per year - and will use ethane feedstock instead of propane as per the original design.

This expansion and feedstock conversion will add approximately 200 million pounds per year of PVC capacity to the existing 1,100 million pounds of annual capacity, enhance Westlake's vinyl chain integration and leverage low cost ethane being developed in the Marcellus shale area, as MRC reported ealier.

Technip is a world leader in project management, engineering and construction for the energy industry

Westlake Chemical Corporation is a U.S. manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals and polymers, headquartered in Houston, Texas. The range of company's products includes ethylene, polyethylene (PE), styrene, propylene (PP), caustics, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and plastic products. Westlake is one of the major ethylene producers in the U.S. and its Calvert City operation is a large integrated PVC site. The previously-announced expansion of the Petro 2 ethylene unit of Westlake Chemical at its Lake Charles complex in Louisiana started in mid-January. This expansion will be completed in conjunction with a planned maintenance turnaround and will increase ethane-based ethylene capacity by approximately 230-240 million lbs/year in support of the company's ethylene integration strategy
MRC