MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mexican polyester producer Alpek reported a rise in Q2 net income because sales rose faster than costs, said Reuters.
Quarter on quarter, sales rose because of higher prices and margins. Alpek did not discuss year-on-year trends. Quarter on quarter, Alpek noted higher margins for polyethylene terephthalate (PET). In addition, margins for polypropylene (PP) maintained their strength for longer than expected following the winter storms that hit the US in mid-February.
For the Polyester segment, Q2 volumes fell quarter on quarter because of a drought in Altamira, Mexico, which temporarily affected the production of purified terephthalic acid (PTA), one of the monomers used to produce PET.
Quarter on quarter, EBITDA fell because the rise in feedstock costs was not as pronounced as it was in the first quarter. Such increases cause positive inventory and carry-forward effects for the segment's earnings.
Alfa’s petrochemical division, Alpek, which accounted for 50% of the quarterly revenue, saw its revenue growth driven by strong demand and higher average prices amid the rise in paraxylene, propylene and other feedstock prices, the company said.
As per MRC, construction of the unfinished polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plant in Texas will be suspended in 2021, said one of the project partners, the Mexican company Alpek. Alpek and other project participants made a decision unanimously. Companies are looking for ways to minimize project costs. The sharp rise in PET demand over the past year has made the project more attractive, Alpek said. Alpek, Indorama Ventures and Far Eastern New Century (FENC) are equal partners in the Corpus Christi Polymers (CCP) joint venture.
According to MRC's ScanPlast, in May the total estimated PET consumption in Russia increased by 15% compared to the same indicator a year earlier and amounted to 85.85 thousand tons. In total, for the period January - May 2021, the estimated consumption in Russia amounted to 349.94 thousand tons of material, which is 22% higher than the indicator of 2020.
MRC