Huntsman to invest USD135 mln at MDI facilities in USA and Europe

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Huntsman Corporation announced a combined investment of USD135 million at two of its worldscale methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) manufacturing facilities: increasing capacity at its Geismar, USA site and upgrading its downstream specialties production capability at its Rotterdam, the Netherlands site, said Plastemart.

The Geismar capacity will be increased by 50ktes to 500ktes using improved process technology developed by Huntsman. The expansion will enable Huntsman to support the growth of its key customers and leverages the significant advantages of the Geismar site, with its access to US shale gas, strong logistics base and excellent integration. The new capacity is expected to come on-stream in 2014 and will further consolidate Huntsman's position as the leading MDI producer in the Americas region.

At its Rotterdam facility, Huntsman is commissioning a new state-of-the-art MDI splitter and downstream specialties manufacturing unit which will enable Huntsman to serve customers with a full range of next-generation, differentiated polyurethane products for automotive, adhesives, coatings and other applications. The unit is designed to handle globally sourced MDI precursor and will be operational by the end of March.

In addition to its Geismar and Rotterdam sites, Huntsman Polyurethanes operates a third worldscale MDI facility in Caojing, Shanghai.

As MRC wrote earlier, Huntsman Corporation acquired the remaining ownership of Russian joint venture Huntsman NMG, giving it full ownership of the company. HNMG is a leading supplier of polyurethane systems to the adhesives, coatings and footwear markets in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

Huntsman is a global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals. Our operating companies manufacture products for a variety of global industries, including chemicals, plastics, automotive, aviation, textiles, footwear, paints and coatings, construction, technology, agriculture, health care, detergent, personal care, furniture, appliances and packaging.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PolyOne, a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, has agreed to sell its vinyl dispersion, blending and suspension resin assets to Mexico-based Mexichem, according to the company's statement.

PolyOne is going to receive USD250 million in cash for this deal.

The sale is subject to satisfaction of regulatory requirements and other customary closing conditions.

PolyOne's resin assets are part of its performance products and solutions segment and generated revenues of USD147 million in 2012.

"Since we began our specialty transformation, we have divested commodity equity investments including oxy vinyls in 2007 and SunBelt in 2011 and reinvested the proceeds to accelerate the growth of our specialty offerings," said Stephen D. Newlin, CEO of PolyOne.

"As our only remaining business involved in the direct manufacture of base resins, we view the sale of our resin production assets as a natural and next step in the evolution of our portfolio," he added.

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. The company's full-year revenues in 2012 increased 4.5% to USD3.0 billion, compared to USD2.9 billion in 2011.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- On Monday, 25 March, domestic trades for April shipments of LDPE were held in Belarus. The growth in consumer activity has led to a slight increase in prices, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

On Monday, 25 March, the local producer of low density polyethylene (LDPE) - Polymir (concern Naftan) - conducted domestic trades for shimpents of the material in April. At the auction prices slightly rose due to the increased buying activity.

Bids for April shipments of LDPE were accepted at Brb12.969-13.039m/tonne, FCA Novopolotsk, excluding VAT, for PE 108 and Brb13.37-13.45m/tonne, FCA Novopolotsk, excluding VAT, for PE 158.

Export trades for Belarusian LDPE to be shipped in April will take place on 26 March.
MRC

MOSCOW (ICIS-MRC) -- Last week suppliers of North American PVC cut the prices for the Russian market slightly. Russian companies are in no hurry to contract the resin, expecting further price reductions, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

High prices of North American PVC in February and March forced many Russian companies reduce their purchases in the US significantly, some companies even completely halted their purchases. Russian market is the third largest exporter for North American producers of PVC, and traders due to the serious decline in purchases cut prices for April.

Last week, the offers for the April shipments of PVC from the US were voiced at USD1,065-1,080/tonne, CFR St Petersburg, down USD10-20/tonne from March. According to some market participants, Russian companies are in no hurry to contract resin for April shipments. Many companies are waiting for further price reductions.

North American suppliers of PVC are not going to reduce prices further. Traders reported a revival in demand from other export markets, as well as small volumes of unsold inventories of PVC.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- German chemicals company BASF, a leading global manufacturer of petrochemicals, has revised its 2012 figures and mid-term outlook due to new reporting and accounting standards, which the company has applied since Jan. 1, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The changes are due to BASF now applying new International Financial Reporting Standards 10 and 11 and of International Accounting Standard 19 (revised).

BASF adjusts 2012 net profit to 4.82 billion euros (USD6.24 billion) from EUR4.88 billion, and sales to EUR72.13 billion from EUR78.73 billion.

It adjusts earnings before interest and taxes to EUR6.74 billion from EUR8.98 billion, while 2012 adjusted Ebit now stands at EUR6.65 billion from EUR8.88 billion.

Past year's earnings before interest, taxes, amortization and depreciation now come in at EUR10.01 billion from EUR12.52 billion, while earnings per share stand now at EUR5.25 from EUR5.31.

The company backs its 2013 outlook, still expecting to increase adjusted volume sales. Compared to the adjusted 2012 figures, BASF expects to reach higher 2012 sales and Ebit in 2013.

"The expected increase in demand, together with measures to improve operational excellence and raise efficiency, will contribute to this," the company said.

Also due to new reporting standards BASF adjusts its mid-term outlook and for 2015 expects sales to come in at EUR80 billion from EUR85 billion expected previously, while estimating Ebitda at EUR14 billion from EUR15 billion.

For 2020, the company now forecasts sales of EUR110 billion compared to the EUR115 billion it previously expected. It estimates 2020 Ebitda now at EUR22 billion from EUR23 billion in its earlier forecast.

As MRC wrote previously, BASF is going to attract financing at the amount of USD3 billion. According to marketers, the new borrowed amount is aimed to replace the credit of USD2,25 billion,the payment of which is due to expire in 2014. International rating agencies (Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings) rated the investment level of BASF as quite high, which indicates a good company's credit profile.

BASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The BASF Group comprises subsidiaries and joint ventures in more than 80 countries and operates six integrated production sites and 390 other production sites in Europe, Asia, Australia, Americas and Africa. The company offers a comprehensive product line and market expertise ranging from commodities to engineering and high-performance materials in thermoplastics, foams and urethanes.
MRC