PP prices rose by USD300/tonne in Turkmenistan

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Stronger demand for polypropylene (PP) from Turkish companies has led to a price rise in the commodity market in Turkmenistan. PP prices rose by USD300/tonne in the last week's trades, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The last week of February was quite productive in the state commodity and feedstock market of Turkmenistan as regards PP sales. 10,000 tonnes of PP were sold only during one day of the trades (26 February). At the same time, prices increased to USD1,150/tonne FOB Turkmenbashi in the trades, with a starting price being at USD850/tonne.

Trades participants said Turkish companies accounted for all PP sales in the trades in Turkmenistan.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- German chemicals maker Evonik Industries AG forecast slight growth in profit and sales this year on demand for animal-feed ingredients, sid the producer in its press release.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization will probably gain from last year’s 1.87 billion euros (USD2.09 billion), the Essen-based company said Tuesday in a statement. Additional "upside" is possible should the dollar-euro exchange rate stay at the start of the year’s level, Evonik said. Analysts predict profit of 2.04 billion euros, according to a Bloomberg survey.

"Now that the first few weeks of the year are behind us, I can already say that the upward trend that started in 2014 will continue," Chief Financial Officer Ute Wolf said today in Essen. "We expect to report a strong start to the year and a strong first quarter."

Chief Executive Officer Klaus Engel has been seeking opportunities to accelerate growth through acquisitions. The chemical maker has expressed interest in multibillion-euro businesses such as Bayer AG’s plastics unit and Dutch competitor Royal DSM NV, people familiar with the matter have said.

While those deals failed to materialize, the CEO emphasized his willingness to acquire at a capital markets day in October, saying that a purchase could accelerate entrance into adjacent markets and businesses.

Adjusted Ebitda rose 18 percent to 442 million euros in the fourth quarter, beating the 433 million-euro average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales gained 4 percent to 3.23 billion euros, also exceeding the consensus.

Evonik shares rose 1.5 percent to 31.27 euros as of 9:45 a.m. in Frankfurt, valuing the company at 14.6 billion euros. The stock has gained 15 percent this year, compared with the 19 percent increase in the MDAX index of medium-sized German companies.

As MRC wrote before, Evonik Industries, a leading specialty chemicals manufacturer, will be able to produce the plasticizer alcohol 2-propyl heptanol (2-PH) much more efficiently at the Marl site. This is made possible by the development of the new ligand OxoPhos 64i; ligands are important components of catalysts and essential for many large-scale processes.

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Its activities focus on the key megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. Evonik benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals (MRPL, Mangalore / India) on 27 February announced that it has commenced feed-in activity for its 440,000 t/y PP line in Mangalore, said Plasteurope.

Commercial production is expected to begin shortly, the company said.

The line is integrated into MRPL’s feedstock production at the site, where it brought on stream a fluidised catalytic cracking unit last year that is capable of turning out 450,000 t/y of propylene. MRPL India’s third largest PP producer, on the heels of Reliance and Indian Oil.

As MRC wrote before, ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals Ltd (OMPL), the aromatics complex in Mangalore jointly promoted by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), will begin production by the end of June or early July 2015.

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), is an oil refinery at Mangalore and is a subsidiary of ONGC, set up in 1993. The refinery is located at Katipalla, north from centre of Mangalore city. The refinery was established after displacing five villages of Bala, Kalavar, Kuthetoor, Katipalla, and Adyapadi.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- January imports of expandable polystyrene (EPS) to the Ukrainian market fell by more than three-fold year on year. Such low EPS imports were registered only in January 2010, according to MRC DataScope report.

Overall, 370 tonnes of EPS were imported to the Ukrainian market in the first month of 2015. Back in December 2014, Ukrainian companies shipped 1,700 tonnes of EPS.

Such a slump in imports in January was caused by difficulties with the foreign currency purchasing. In addition, weak winter demand in the market of finished products, especially from the construction sector, also negatively affected imports.

Lower imports were registered from all major suppliers. Shipments from Russia have been falling for the second consecutive month. SIBUR remained the largest supplier, its imports totalled only 160 tonnes.

In January, some converters and traders reported difficulties with transportation for the goods delivery from Russia, which could also have an impact on the overall reduction in imports.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Board of Directors of Asahi Kasei Corporation (Asahi Kasei) has approved a transformation of the corporate configuration in which Asahi Kasei, currently a holding company, is to become an operating holding company through the absorption of three of its core operating companies, Asahi Kasei Chemicals, Asahi Kasei Fibers, and Asahi Kasei E-materials, on April 1, 2016, said the producer on its site.

Since this is scheduled to be a short-form absorption-type merger through the absorption of consolidated subsidiaries, some items and details have been partially abridged in the disclosure.

Under the company's new strategic management initiative which will begin in fiscal 2016, the Asahi Kasei Group’s current four business sectors will be changed to the three business sectors of Materials (currently Chemicals & Fibers and Electronics), Homes (currently Homes & Construction Materials), and Health Care, in order to pursue further growth by improving portfolio management through the optimum allocation of management resources while creating synergy among different business sectors.

In accordance with the change in the corporate configuration, Asahi Kasei Chemicals, Asahi Kasei Fibers, and Asahi Kasei E-materials will be absorbed into Asahi Kasei, forming the Materials business sector. This change will help the company to enhance its corporate value by enabling greater efficiency and more powerful combinations among different business sectors.

The merger will not involve any allocation of shares or other assets.

As MRC informed before, Asahi Kasei Chemical is likely to shut its styrene monomer (SM) plant in Japan for maintenance turnaround in mid-September 2015. It is likely to remain off-stream for around one month. Located at Mizushima in Japan, the plant has a production capacity of 390,000 mt/year.

Asahi Kasei Corporation is a global Japanese chemical company. Its main products are chemicals and materials science.
MRC