Yansab Q4 net profit shrinks 36.4% on lower prices

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Arabia's Yanbu National Petrochemical Co (Yansab) beat analysts' forecasts despite reporting a 36.4 percent drop in fourth-quarter net profit as lower product prices dragged earnings, said Reuters.

The firm, a subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), made a net profit of 393.1 million riyals (USD104.9 million) in the three months to Dec. 31, down from 617.8 million riyals in the same period of 2014, it said in a bourse filing.

Three analysts polled by Reuters on average forecast Yansab would make a quarterly profit of 345.8 million riyals. It is the fourth straight quarter in which Yansab has reported falling profits. It had already announced it was trimming its dividend payout for the second half of 2015, having cut it in the first half of the year as well.

Yansab said lower average sales prices for all of its products eliminated the benefits from higher sales volumes, causing the profit drop. It did not elaborate further.

Saudi companies issue brief earnings statements early in the reporting period before publishing more detailed results later.

Like many petrochemical firms in the kingdom, Yansab's earnings have been hit hard by falling product prices as they are closely tied to the price of oil, which is languishing at 12-year lows. Saudi producers have also benefited from subsidised energy and feedstock costs, so lower crude prices compress their profit margins.

As MRC informed earlier, Saudi Arabia's Yanbu National Petrochemical Co (Yansab) reported a 56.4 percent plunge in third-quarter net profit, worse than analysts' forecasts.

Yansab is the most recent SABIC, (Saudi Basic Industries Corp), affiliate in Saudi Arabia, and will be the largest Sabic petrochemical complex. It will have an annual capacity exceeding 4 million metric tons (MT) of petrochemical products including: 1.3 million MT (metric-tons) of ethylene; 400,000 MT of propylene; 900,000 MT of polyethylene; 400,000 MT of polypropylene; 700,000 MT of ethylene glycol; 250,000 MT of benzene, xylene and toluene, and 100,000 MT of butene-1 and butene-2.MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik Industries has turned its attention to the US in its search for a target after struggling to make a larger acquisition in Europe, according to people familiar with the matter, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Germany’s second-largest chemical maker has held talks with several US companies, including Air Products & Chemicals about buying its material technologies unit, which is scheduled to be spun off later this year, said three of the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions aren’t public. Evonik hasn’t made any final decision and is still scouting for targets, the people said.

Representatives for Evonik and Air Products declined to comment.

Time is running out for Evonik CEO Klaus Engel after he set a deadline of mid-2016 to either find a suitable acquisition or distribute Evonik’s burgeoning pile of cash to investors. A large acquisition has so far eluded the Essen, Germany-based company, even after it looked into buying Royal DSM, Clariant and Croda International, people familiar with the matter have told Bloomberg.

Air Products’s materials technology unit had $2.09 billion in revenue in the 12 months ended in September. Evonik is most attracted to the part of the unit that supplies specialty additives and chemicals for adhesives and coatings, which would fit with existing operations, and is less interested in the side that makes chemicals for electronics, said one of the people. The Air Products business may also attract larger German rival BASF, two of the people said.

A BASF representative declined to comment on potential acquisition targets.

Evonik’s failure to find a bigger acquisition is also holding up plans for possible asset sales, two of the people said. The German company is considering carving out and potentially selling the business making methyl methacrylate and polymethyl methacrylate -- starting materials for products used in the automotive, construction and lighting industries. Still, an agreement with labor representatives not to sell any assets unless proceeds are needed for an acquisition would hinder a sale.

RAG Stiftung, which holds 68% of Evonik’s shares, would prefer the company spend cash on growth instead of distributing it to shareholders -- especially if an acquisition would boost the amount of less-cyclical, specialty chemicals the firm can sell, one of the people said.

As MRC informed earlier, Evonik plans to raise its 2015 dividend by 15% to 1.15 euros per share after the chemical maker met its target for profit last year.

If the company is able to pay for a deal in shares, an acquisition could also lead to a larger percentage of freely-traded shares, diluting RAG’s stake and helping the company get into Germany’s benchmark DAX Index. Evonik has a market capitalization of about 13 billion euros (USD14 billion).

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) -- Following a minor glitch, Chandra Asri Petrochemical has shut its 860,000 tpa naphtha cracker, said Reuters.

The Indonesian petrochem major is expected to resume operations in about a week's time as per trade sources in Reuters. The sources added that impact on naphtha demand would be limited as the unit was not running at high rates.

Royal Dutch Shell's 900,000 tpa ethylene cracker in Bukom, Singapore, is still shut since late last year because of corrosion.

As MRC informed earlier, Chandra Asri Petrochemical (CAP) is reportedly planning to build a naphtha refinery at its Cilegon complex in Banten, Indonesia, with an estimated investment of USD740m.

Chandra Asri Petrochemical (CAP) is the largest vertically integrated petrochemical company in Indonesia with facilities located in Ciwandan, Cilegon and Puloampel, Serang in Banten Province. CAP is Indonesia's premier petrochemical plant incorporating world-class, state-of-the-art technology and supporting facilities. At the heart of CAP lies the Lummus Naphtha Cracker producing high quality Ethylene, Propylene, Mixed C4, and Pyrolysis Gasoline (Py-Gas) for the Indonesian as well as regional export markets.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Amcor Rigid Plastics, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of rigid plastic packaging for food, beverage, spirits, personal/home care and healthcare industries, has announced a major new business platform to facilitate small-volume production for emerging beverage companies who seek to reach the market more cost effectively and established high-volume suppliers who want to explore niche markets, as per company's press release.

Amcor’s UpStartTM program works closely with growing start-ups like Alkaline Water Co., Scottsdale, Ariz., by providing a flexible and cost-effective system to launch niche products and conduct test marketing.
“Our goal is to assist regional and emerging brands with launching their new, custom products and then scale them up to larger equipment platforms,” said Frank Lin, director of marketing for Amcor Rigid Plastics’ Beverage Unit. “In addition, customers are able to experience our full suite of capabilities, including design services, engineering and development, laboratory, and other technical services."

As MRC informed earlier, Amcor Flexibles Europe, Middle East and Africa (AFEMEA) announced it has completed the acquisition of Nampak Flexible, the leading flexibles packaging company in South Africa.

Amcor Limited is an Australian-based multinational packaging company. It operates manufacturing plants in 42 countries. It is the world's largest manufacturer of plastic bottles.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil and gas firms Rosneft and BP have agreed to dissolve their refining joint venture Ruhr Oel GmbH (ROG) as they move toward completion of the restructuring of their German refining and petrochemical venture, as per companies' press releases.

The agreement was approved by the Rosneft board of directors on Dec. 31, 2015, and by the board of BP Europa SE on Jan. 14.

When the restructuring is completed later this year, Rosneft will become a direct shareholder and increase its shareholding in the Bayernoil refinery to 25% from 12.5%; the MiRO refinery to 24% from 12%; and the PCK refinery to 54.17% from 35.42%.

In exchange, BP will consolidate 100% of the equity of the Gelsenkirchen refinery and the solvent production facility DHC Solvent Chemie.

The restructuring of Ruhr Oel GmbH will enable Rosneft and BP to re-focus their refining and petrochemical strategies in Germany.

Sole ownership of the Gelsenkirchen refinery will re-focus BP's refining business in the heart of Europe and is in line with the company's drive for greater simplification and efficiency, it said.

In May 2011, Rosneft acquired a 50% share in a joint venture Ruhr Oel GmbH (ROG) in Germany. ROG holds stakes in four refineries in Germany.

Rosneft became Russia's largest publicly traded oil company in March 2013 after the USD55 billion takeover of TNK-BP, which was Russia’s third-largest oil producer at the time.

BP is one of the world's leading international oil and gas companies, providing its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemicals products for everyday items.
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