Westlake Chemical announces Q1 results

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Westlake Chemical reported Q1 EPS of USD2.20, USD0.04 better than the analyst estimate of USD2.16. Revenue for the quarter came in at USD2.15 billion versus the consensus estimate of USD2.14 billion, as per Reuters.

Record quarterly sales of USD2.15 billion.
Earnings per diluted share of USD2.20, an increase of 108% from the first quarter of 2017.
Record quarterly income from operations of USD401 million.
Record quarterly EBITDA of USD579 million.

"Demand remains strong for our products in both the Olefins and Vinyls segments due to continued growth in the Americas, Europe and Asia, and we continue to benefit from the investments made in 2017 to improve our operations and reliability," said Westlake CEO Albert Chao.

Lower income taxes as a result of US reforms in late 2017 and a $6m pre-tax gain from the redemption of debt in February 2018 also buoyed proftis during the quarter, Westlake added.

As MRC informed earlier, in February 2018, the Board of Directors of Westlake Chemical Corporation has declared a regular dividend distribution of USD0.2100 per share.

Westlake Chemical Corporation is an international manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and building products with headquarters in Houston, Texas. The company's range of products includes: ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, propylene, chlor-alkali and derivative products, PVC suspension and specialty resins, PVC Compounds, and PVC building products including siding, pipe, fittings and specialty components, windows, fence, deck and film.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, has increased list and off-list selling prices for Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM) sold in Europe, Middle East, Africa and in the Americas, as per the company's press release.

The price increases below were effective 18 April, 2018 or as contracts otherwise allow, and are incremental to any previously announced increases.

Thus, VAM prices were raised, as follows:

- by EUR75/mt - for Europe, Middle East & Africa;
- by USD0.05/lb - for the USA and Canada:
- by USD100/mt - for Mexico & South America.

As MRC reported earlier, Celanese Corporation also increased list and off-list selling prices for Ateva EVA polymers sold in the Americas. The price rise was effective 1 May, 2018, or as contracts otherwise allow. Thus, the company's EVA prices went up by USD0.05/lb for the said regions.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,600 employees worldwide and had 2017 net sales of USD6.1 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Belgian chemicals group Solvay on Thursday posted a first-quarter core profit below expectations, as higher volumes were offset by the impact of a weaker U.S. dollar and slightly higher fixed costs, as per the company's press release.

Core profit (EBITDA) fell 2.6 percent in the first quarter to 533 million euros (USD638.8 million), slightly below the 541 million euros expected in a Reuters poll of seven analysts.

The profit decline was sharpest in its Performance Chemicals unit, which makes soda ash for the production of glass and suffered from higher energy and freight costs.

The group confirmed its 2018 outlook for EBITDA to grow 5 to 7 percent on a like-for-like basis and excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates. In the first quarter, this underlying profit figure was up 9 percent.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Board of Directors of Arkema met on 2 May 2018 to review the Group's consolidated financial statements for the first quarter of 2018, as per the company press release.

At the close of the meeting, Chairman and CEO Thierry Le Henaff stated:

"Arkema has made a very strong start to the year, with a 33% year on year increase in adjusted net income despite a high basis of comparison in first quarter 2017 and the very strong appreciation of the euro.

These excellent results are supported by the success of our innovation drive in advanced materials, the benefits of increased production capacities in specialty molecular sieves in France and PVDF in China last year, the integration of XL Brands in adhesives and the confirmation of the very good performance of our intermediate chemical businesses. It also reflects lower tax rate and cost of debt.

This start to the year gives us full confidence in our ability to achieve the objective we have announced for 2018."
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Resulting from a new collaboration with PantoneColor of the Year 2018, BASF will showcase a collection of sparkling Ultra Violet shades featuring its Colors & Effectseffect pigments for use in various plastics applications across multiple product markets, as per Coatingsworld.

The collection, to be launched at CHINAPLAS 2018 in Shanghai, will offer customers five pre-defined shade formulations sparkling with featured effect pigments and inspiring further custom shade development options.

"The featured effect shade collection demonstrates how our customers can use Colors & Effectspigments to bring their visionary color designs to life” said Juerg Zingg, technical marketing manager, Pigments for Plastics, BASF. “PantoneColor of the Year is a strong partner providing a strategic direction for trends and therefore inspiring plastic designs in a number of industries. This year’s color, Ultra Violet, is equal parts dramatic and thoughtful, and has inspired us to create an effect shade collection for our customers that will help them communicate originality and ingenuity."

With the purple shade calling to mind the mysteries of the cosmos, the night sky and the possibilities that lie beyond, Colors & Effects sparkling Ultra Violet collection features the following five effect shade formulations:
Silky Way – offers a smooth, velvety appearance with silver sparkling pigments for an elegant effect; ?
Meteor Shower – features a shimmering surface with speckled silver sparking pigments; ?
Distant Galaxy – has a vibrant gloss with greater color depth and violet sparkling pigments; ?
Stellar Burst – provides an intense color offering with a smooth appearance and discreet sparkling effects for an overall fine finish; and ?
Galactic Halo – offers a glittering appearance with large effect pigments resulting in modern color travel from violet to blue. ?BASF also provides individual styling options to customers to help them create their individual shades. ?

BASF will showcase its effect shades based on Ultra Violet at CHINAPLAS 2018, one of the largest plastics and rubber trade fairs in the world. ?
MRC