Thyssenkrupp suspends forecast for the current fiscal year due to present geopolitical and economic turmoil

Thyssenkrupp suspended its 2021/22 forecast for free cash flow before mergers and acquisitions for due to the Ukraine crisis and said it was unclear if it would still be able to spin off its steel division, said the company.

Although the group’s sales from Russia and Ukraine are negligible at significantly less than one percent of total sales, the Executive Board estimates that the group’s business performance will be impacted by the far-reaching macroeconomic and geopolitical consequences of the war in Ukraine. The Executive Board currently assumes that the global disruptions at various points in the supply chain will affect above all thyssenkrupp’s steel and automotive supply businesses. Opposing developments in materials trading, which is benefiting from the current increase in raw material and material prices, and the countermeasures initiated will not be able to fully compensate these impacts.

At the present time, the specific extent of the direct and indirect consequences of the war in Ukraine on the business development of thyssenkrupp is associated with high uncertainties. Against this background – in particular due to rising raw material prices – thyssenkrupp AG suspends its forecast for free cash flow before M&A for fiscal year 2021/2022.

Until the start of the war, business development of thyssenkrupp AG in the first quarter and in the current second quarter of the fiscal year was according to plan. In March, initial negative effects occurred primarily in the steel and automotive supply businesses. At the present time, the Executive Board continues to assume that the adjusted EBIT for the second quarter will still be above the previous quarter. Free cash flow before M&A, on the other hand, will be more strongly impacted by negative price effects than previously expected.

The economic consequences of the war in Ukraine for the group’s business development are also influencing the possible stand-alone solution for the steel business. thyssenkrupp AG remains convinced that the independent positioning of the steel business offers very good prospects for the future. Nevertheless, a statement on the feasibility is at present not possible due to the current economic conditions.

As per MRC, Thyssenkrupp Uhde’s subsidiary Uhde Inventa-Fischer signed a contract to build three new polymer plants for SASA Polyester Sanayi A.S in Adana, Turkey. One plant is planned to produce 1,050 metric tpd (380,000 tpy) polyethylene terephthalate (PET) for low viscosity application combined with a Co-PET plant with a capacity of 100 metric tpd (36,000 tpy). The third plant will use Uhde Inventa-Fischer’s proprietary patented MTR (Melt-to-Resin) technology to produce 330,000 tpy of resin for the production of PET bottles.

Thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers offers world-leading technologies for high-efficiency electrolysis plants. The company, a Joint Venture with Industrie De Nora, has extensive in-depth knowledge in the engineering, procurement, and construction of electrochemical plants and a strong track record of more than 600 projects with a total rating of over 10 gigawatts already successfully installed. With its water electrolysis technology to produce green hydrogen, the company offers an innovative solution on an industrial scale for green value chains and an industry fueled by clean energy – a major step towards a climate-neutrality.
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The international rating agency S&P Global Ratings has downgraded the long-term credit rating of the Russian Federation in national and foreign currency from "CCC-" to "CC", said Interfax citing press release from the agency.

Short-term ratings remain at 'C'.

The ratings remain under review with a negative outlook, S&P notes.

The deterioration of the long-term ratings is due to expectations that Russia will face technical difficulties in servicing Eurobonds in the coming weeks.

As per MRC, the international rating agency S&P downgraded the credit ratings of 52 Russian companies, including the world's largest energy company, Gazprom, and Russia's leading oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil. Thus, S&P Global Ratings downgraded the ratings of these companies to CCC-.
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BASF will almost double the production capacity for its synthetic ester base stocks at its site in Jinshan, China, said the company.

The investment comes in response to the rising demand for high-performance lubricants in Asia Pacific, and further strengthens BASF’s position as a reliable supplier that strongly supports customers’ growth in the region.

Synthetic ester base stocks are essential components in the formulation of high-performance lubricants, providing several sustainability benefits. Fields of application include environmentally friendly refrigeration and air-conditioning, automotive as well as industrial lubricants.

"The new production capacity for synthetic ester base stocks will bring additional security of supply for our customers particularly in the Asia Pacific region. Building on our backward integration into key raw materials we will be leveraging the full strength of BASF as a leading and reliable component provider to the lubricant industry,” explains Matthias Lang, Vice President, Business Management Fuel and Lubricant Solutions Asia Pacific and Performance Chemicals Greater China. “We are excited to serve our customers even better and grow together with them moving forward."

The capacity expansion is expected to reach full completion by 2H22.

As MRC wrote before, Air Liquide, BASF and Shell are joining Calpine, Chevron, Dow, ExxonMobil, INEOS, Linde, LyondellBasell, Marathon Petroleum, NRG Energy, Phillips 66 and Valero to collectively evaluate and advance emissions reduction efforts in and around the Houston industrial area. Three additional companies have announced their support for exploring the implementation of large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology in and around the Houston industrial area. The 14 companies are evaluating how to use safe, proven CCS technology at Houston-area facilities that provide energy and products for modern life, including advanced manufacturing for plastics, packaging, motor fuels and power generation.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas.shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.

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Ansaldo Energia, Ansaldo GreenTech and Energy Dome signed the license agreement for the use by Ansaldo Energia of the energy storage technology owned by Energy Dome, based on the compression and expansion of CO2, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This is the first license agreement between Energy Dome and an EPC/OEM internationally renowned company, which will allow Ansaldo Energia to commercialize the CO2 battery in core markets where the company, leader in power generation and key player of the energy transition, has a historic commercial presence. The agreement also foresees the marketing license of energy transition combined cycle (ETCC) technology in combination with gas turbines. The two companies intend to start construction of the first ETCC and CO2 battery commercial plants by the beginning of 2023. Ansaldo Energia will provide the turnkey EPC, including performance guarantees, based on the front end engineering design developed by Energy Dome.

The signature follows the MoU signed last year and the due diligence carried out by Ansaldo Energia on the Energy Dome technology, which confirmed the technology readiness level, performance and costs as well as its potential in the energy storage market. Ansaldo Energia thus enters a strategic segment of the energy supply chain. A crucial operation in the era of ecological transition and fundamental for guaranteeing reliability in the distribution of energy produced from renewable sources.

The storage system owned by Energy Dome is based on a thermodynamic cycle which, by manipulating CO2 between its gaseous and liquid phases, allows an efficient and economical energy storage based on components already available on the market. The process includes a charging mode, in which CO2 is taken from an atmospheric gasholder, the Dome, compressed and then stored under pressure and at ambient temperature in a liquid state. When energy needs to be released, the CO2 is evaporated and expanded in a turbine, then returned to the atmospheric gasholder, ready for the next charging cycle, without the process having any emissions into the atmosphere.

Tosoh Corporation managed the parties in joint proposal of “development of technology for producing raw materials for plastics using CO2 and/or other sources” selected by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) funded by the Green Innovation Fund.

Chevron announced it has made a new investment in Carbon Clean. Carbon Clean’s technology is designed to reduce the costs and physical footprint required for carbon capture compared with many existing approaches. Carbon Clean’s technology and fully modular construction also aims to reduce site disruption and facilitate faster permitting.
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Brenntag has expanded its distribution agreement with UK-based Elementis Specialties in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, the German chemicals distributor said.

This distribution agreement will be effective starting 1 April, it said in a statement. Brenntag will distribute Elementis Specialties’ specialty chemicals and additives for the coatings, adhesive and sealant industries.

Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

It was informed earlier, Brenntag Canada Inc., part of the Brenntag Group, the global market leader in chemical and ingredients distribution, signed an agreement with Elementis Specialties Inc. for distribution in Canada. The product lines are used in industrial and architectural coatings, sealants, adhesives, inks, and construction products. They include rheology modifiers, slip and leveling additives, defoamers, wetting and dispersing additives.

Elementis has over 150 years in the industry, providing ingredients for industrial and consumer markets. The company operates across five business segments: Chromium, Coatings, Energy, Personal Care, and Talc.
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