Oltchim cuts losses by 34% in Q1

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Insolvent Romanian state-owned chemical producer Oltchim recorded a turnover of RON 136.2 million (EUR 30.2 million) in the first quarter of 2014, up 64.7 percent against the same period of the previous year, said Romania-Insider.

For January-March, the company reported losses of RON 56.2 million (EUR 12.4 million), down 34.6% year-on-year.

Almost 67% of Oltchim’s turnover is generated by petrochemicals activities.

"The reduction of losses was registered due to a better use of financial resources, the elimination of all expenditures that were not closely connected to the production activity and by reducing staff through layoffs organized in June 2013," reads the company’s report.

At the end of Q1, the company had debts of RON 3.6 billion (EUR 800 million), similar to the amount reported in the same period of 2013.

The Romanian state is the main shareholder of Oltchim. The company entered insolvency in January 2013.

Oltchim S.A. manufactures and exports a wide range of diversified chemical products. The Company has five main segments: chloro-alkali products, macro- molecular products, chlorinated solvents, and pesticides. Oltchim's primary products are caustic liquid soda and solid chlorine, hydrochloric acid and sodium hypochlorite.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's exports of polycarbonate (PC) to foreign markets decreased from January to April 2014 by 3% year on year and totalled 4,100 tonnes, according to MRC DataScope.

Kazanorgsintez, the only national producer, supplies most of its quantities to the domestic market because of stronger spring demand and reduced imports. Overall, Kazanorgsintez produced over the stated period more than 24,000 tonnes of PC granules, of which about 4,000 tonnes were exported to foreign markets. Thus, Kazanorgsintez shipped 20,000 tonnes of PC to the domestic market.

Material of the national producer has strengthened its position in the market because of higher prices of imported PC and the reduced purchasing power of consumers. Thus, PC imports to Russia was 14,200 tonnes over the first four months of 2014, down by 25% year on year, while Kazanorgsintez accounted for nearly 60% of the total consumption.

Exports are expected to reach the previous quantities in early summer amid weaker demand in the domestic market. Chinese injection moulding PC market is the main market for Russia's exports.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Despite the shutdown of capacities at Stavrolen, Russia's imports of polypropylene (PP) continued to decline.
Russia's PP imports decreased by 26% in the first four months of 2014, according to MRC DataScope report.

April PP imports to Russia was 16,500 tonnes, from 15,700 tonnes in March. Total PP imports to Russia in the first four months of this year reached 59,300 tonnes, compared with 80,600 tonnes in January-April 2013. Balance of the Russian PP market has changed. Twofold increase in PP capacities in Russia (launch of the plants in Omsk and Tobolsk in 2013) even given the shutdown at Stavrolen and serious export growth allowed Russian producers to reduce dependence on PP imports, particularly homopolymer PP. In general, the total PP imports over the reporting period was as follows.

April imports of homopolymer PP were about 4,900 tonnes, from 5,400 tonnes in March. Total imports of homopolymer PP to Russia decreased to 22,300 tonnes in January - April 2014, compared with 37,400 tonnes in the same period of 2013. With high probability it can be said that by the end of this year, the average monthly imports of homopolymer PP will be about 5,000-6,000 tonnes.

April imports propylene block copolymers (PP-block) rose to 5,400 tonnes?from 3,900 tonnes in March, the increase occurred for the local producers of steel pipes and oil and gas pipelines. Total imports of PP block copolymers in the first four months of this year decreased to 15,600 tonnes, down 15% year on year.

Imports of stat-propylene copolymers (PP-random) in April were about 2,800 tonnes (3,100 tonnes in March) because of reduction of the supply of polymer for the production of pressure pipes. Total imports of PP random copolymers in January-April 2014 dropped to 9,900 tonnes, against 13,200 tonnes in the same period of 2013.

Russia decreased dependence on imports in all sectors of consumption, the exception was only local producers of biaxially oriented polypropylene film (BOPP films). Imports of other propylene polymers in April this year reached a level of 3,300 tonnes.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Styron, the global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber, has reported first quarter 2014 results with net sales of USD1,359 million and adjusted EBITDA of USD84 million, as per the company's press release.

For the three months ended March 31, 2014, our net sales were USD1,359.1 million, down slightly from USD1,391.6 million in the three months ended March 31, 2013. This decrease of 2.3% is primarily due to lower selling prices, offset by higher sales volumes and a favorable currency impact, as the US dollar weakened compared to the euro. The overall decrease in selling prices was primarily due to the pass through of lower raw material costs to customers, while the increase in sales volumes was primarily due to the Synthetic Rubber segment, caused by higher solution styrene-butadiene rubber (SSBR) sales to tire producers.

Adjusted EBITDA was USD84.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014 compared to USD63.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2013. This increase of 33.1% was driven by higher margins from our styrene monomer production in our Styrenics segment in addition to other margin improvement initiatives and favorable market dynamics driven by lower supply in Europe. Adjusted EBITDA is also higher in our Synthetic Rubber segment due to higher volumes of SSBR sales and higher margins driven by the favorable impact from inventory purchase timing which was partially offset by higher fixed costs primarily related to the SSBR capacity expansion.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2014, we had total liquidity of $630 million, down only slightly from our liquidity as of December 31, 2013 of USD633 million. Further, our total cash balance as of March 31, 2014 was USD139.1 million, and outstanding debt remained stable at USD1.3 billion, with no significant borrowing activities during the first quarter and no borrowings outstanding from the revolving facility under our senior secured credit facility and accounts receivable securitization facility as of March 31, 2014.

As MRC wrote before, Styron had previously announced plans to change the name of all Styron affiliated companies to Trinseo. Some, but not all, of the Styron companies have completed the name change process and are currently known as Trinseo; Styron companies that have not completed this process will continue to do business as Styron until their respective name changes are complete. Styron's operating companies also continue to do business as Styron at this time.

Styron is a leading global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber, dedicated to collaborating with customers to deliver innovative and sustainable solutions. Styron’s technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Styron had approximately USD5.3 billion in net sales in 2013, with 19 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,100 employees.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borealis, an Austrian petrochemical company controlled by Abu Dhabi, plans to get the first drops of ethylene flowing by the end of May from a plant expansion in the emirate costing more than USD4 billion, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The mechanical works for the Borouge 3 ethane cracker were signed off eight weeks ago, and since then engineers have been setting systems for cooling, testing and safety, and getting the ethane-fed furnaces to an operating temperature of 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,800 Fahrenheit), CEO Mark Garrett said in a phone interview.

The expansion project began in 2009 with a handshake between Garrett and his counterpart at Borouge partner Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. in a hotel in Fuschl, Austria.

Annual capacity at Borouge, about 155 miles (250 kilometers) from the city of Abu Dhabi, will more than double to 4.5 million tons from 2 million tons of ethylene and the derivative polyethylene and polypropylene plastics used in car parts and packaging.

First-quarter net income surged 67% from a year earlier to 102 million euros (USD140 million) as higher demand for polyethylene offset a “soft market” for the fertilizer business, Vienna-based Borealis said in a statement. Sales jumped 14% to 2.26 billion euros.

In addition to lower fertilizer demand, unreliable plants meant Borealis missed out on selling some supplies on the spot market at higher prices, Garrett said. The company is also combating weakness in the European infrastructure market, where governments have cut spending on such products as plastic water pipes, Garrett said.

Borealis has also upgraded plants in Kallo, Belgium, and Grand-Quevilly, France. An abundance of US shale gas makes it increasingly likely that supplies will flow into Europe by ship, Garrett said.

Borealis is still studying whether it should import US ethane as an alternative to obtaining the feedstock from the North Sea, and such a move would be potentially "very interesting", given the coastal location of its crackers, the CEO said.

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. The only polyethylene (PE) producer in Sweden, Borealis’ Stenungsund facilities include a PE plant, a cracker for ethylene and propylene production, and an innovation center focused on research and development for infrastructure markets.MRC