MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japanese producer Mitsui Chemicals on Thursday reported a 50.1% fall in its full-year net profit as sales dropped following the spread of the coronavirus, said Chemweek.
Sales prices fell due to the fall in naphtha and other raw materials as well as fuel prices.
Operating income fell due to unfavourable terms of trade in addition to decrease in sales resulting from the spread of the coronavirus and increase in fixed costs.
"In the chemical industry, the extremely harsh economic environment in countries worldwide will result in a decrease in demand and fluctuations in naphtha prices and other chemical products," the company said in a statement.
The company expects net income to drop to Y20bn in the full-year ending 31 March 2021 with sales falling to Y1,145bn.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing PE and PP.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 383,760 tonnes in the first two month of 2020, up by 14% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased due to the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 192,760 tonnes in January-February 2020, down by 6% year on year. Homopolymer PP accounted for the main decrease in imports.
Mitsui Chemicals is a leading manufacturer and supplier of value added specialty chemicals, plastics and materials for the automotive, healthcare, packaging, agricultural, building, and semiconductor and electronics markets. Mitsui Chemicals is a Japanese Chemicals company, a part of the Mitsui conglomerate. The company has a turnover of around 15 billion USD and has business interests in Japan, Europe, China, Southeast Asia and the USA. The company mainly deals in performance materials, petro and basic chemicals and functional polymeric materials.
(USD1 = Y106.9)
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