Imports of bottle grade PC to the Russian market suspended in January

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian traders and converters stopped purchasing bottle grade polycarbonate (PC) in January because of the absence of effective demand for both polymer and finished products, according to MRC DataScope report.

The Russian market of bottle grade PC granules is completely dependent on imports due to the absence of production in the country. The bulk of quantities are shipped from Asia through the ports in the East of Russia. Domestic prices of imported material are too high for converters at the moment, despite the global downward trend in oil prices and in prices of Asian PC. The strengthening of the dollar against other foreign currencies also contributed to this situation.

In their turn, consumers of finished products refused to accept the announced increases in prices of bottles. Demand subsided sharply in the market. Many companies began to use bottles longer than the due date and to refuse from procurement of new bottles. Some bottles producers avoided increases in the cost of products by raising the share of recycles material in their production, which negatively affected the quality of products.

The last shipments of bottle grade PC granules from South Korea were made in October 2014. Traders said they would not be resumed until March. Asian producers reduced their January prices by USD400/tonne from October 2014. It was extremely difficult for importers to sell out old stocks. Old stocks of European material were also available in the market, which were sometimes offered at lower prices than those of Asian material.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Carlsberg has announced that President and CEO, Jorgen Buhl Rasmussen, is to retire from the Carlsberg Group, reported the company on its site.

Cees ‘t Hart, currently CEO of the Dutch dairy company Royal FrieslandCampina, one of the largest dairy companies in the world, is appointed President and CEO. Jorgen will retire and Cees will start 15 June 2015.

Cees ‘t Hart, Dutch, has been CEO of Royal FrieslandCampina since 2008 where he led the integration of two former competitors Friesland Foods and Campina, developed the strategy route2020 and re-engineered the business model to deliver sustainable growth and value creation. In this period revenues grew from Euro 8.2bn to Euro 11.4bn, and margins increased significantly in part through the creation of an international supply chain. The company, now one of the most successful dairies in the world, has operations in 32 countries across Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa, and sells its products in over 100 markets. This includes a substantial presence in China. Prior to joining Royal FrieslandCampina, Cees had a 25 year impressive international career at Unilever across Eastern and Western Europe, and Asia. His last position at Unilever was as a member of the Europe Executive Board.

Commenting on the change, Chairman of the Supervisory Board Flemming Besenbacher says: "The Carlsberg Group has good underlying fundamentals, and the Board and Jorgen are in full alignment that now is the right time to make a change and secure progress and continuity at the top executive level for a number of years ahead. I am delighted that Cees ‘t Hart will be joining the Group to do this. He has great international experience and a strong track record, and will propose the next phase strategy for Carlsberg Group’s long-term profitable and sustainable growth.

"On behalf of the Supervisory Board I would like to thank Jorgen for his significant contribution to the Group’s evolution during the past seven years. Performance has been strong across many geographies but of course challenged by macro-economic developments in Russia. Jorgen is handing over a Carlsberg with a transformed geographic footprint, a strong international leadership team and a more commercially capable and efficient organisation."

As MRC wrote previously, Danish brewer Carlsberg reduced operating profit by 22% in the fourth quarter of 2014 due to a strong decline in sales in its home market - Russia.

The Carlsberg Group is a Danish brewing company founded in 1847 by J. C. Jacobsen with headquarters located in Copenhagen, Denmark. The company's flagship brand is Carlsberg Beer (named after Jacobsen's son Carl) but it also brews Tuborg, Kronenbourg, Somersby cider, Russia's best selling beer Baltika, Belgian Grimbergen abbey beers as well more than 500 local beers.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Swiss speciality chemicals maker Clariant said it would not achieve a key margin target in 2015, as it posted a year-on-year rise in quarterly net profit, said the producer in its press release.

The Basel-based company is targeting a margin on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) before exceptional items of between 16% and 19%.

"In light of the volatile economic conditions, Clariant currently does not anticipate achieving its mid-term EBITDA margin target in 2015," the company said in a statement, adding that it expected to raise its EBITDA margin before exceptional items above the 14.2 percent achieved in 2014.

Clariant posted a fourth-quarter net result from continuing operations of 133 million Swiss francs (USD142.20 million), up from 85 million francs over the corresponding period last year.

As MRC wrote before, Clariant announced that it has signed a purchase agreement with VitaPac, a Chinese specialist for healthcare packaging. The owner-led company with 80 employees is based in Hong Kong with a production site in Dongguan, China. It had consolidated sales of about CHF 4.0 million in 2013 (USD4.2 million).

Clariant Chemicals (India) Limited and custom color and additive products with production of more than 10,000 color matches which are completed each year. With more than 50 manufacturing plants around the world, Clariant
Masterbatches products, technology and service deliver competitive advantages that foster long-term customer relationships.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF, the German chemicals giant, has obtained another Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification for cosmetic ingredients in accordance with the requirements of the European Federation for Cosmetic Ingredients (EFfCI), as per the company's press release.

Now BASF’s largest site worldwide for the production of ingredients for the personal care industry in Dusseldorf-Holthausen, has also successfully passed the audit. The certification confirms that strict guidelines for product quality and industrial hygiene requirements are followed here during the manufacturing process. Eleven BASF sites where cosmetic ingredients are manufactured currently have a similar certificate. By 2018, the company strives to have GMP certification for all relevant production sites for cosmetic ingredients worldwide.

"Today more than ever, consumers expect that their personal care products include high quality and safe cosmetic ingredients. Our customers, cosmetics manufacturers, are faced with the challenge to prove that they meet these requirements," explained Jan-Peter Sander, Senior Vice President of Personal Care Europe. "GMP certification confirms the high production standards and the excellent quality of cosmetic ingredients produced at our Dusseldorf-Holthausen site."

The GMP guidelines for cosmetic ingredients provide important guidance for manufacturers seeking consistently high quality standards. The standards are established and regularly refined by the EFfCI - a European industry association that was founded in 2000 and represents the collective interests of more than 100 manufacturers of cosmetic ingredients in Europe.

As MRC reported earlier, in October 2014, BASF and Archroma agreed on the sale of BASF’s global textile chemicals business to Archroma, a supplier of specialty chemicals to the textile, paper and emulsions industries. Archroma is a portfolio company of SK Capital Partners, a private investment firm with focus on the specialty materials, chemicals and healthcare sectors. It is planned to integrate the business into the Archroma Textile Chemicals Specialties business. Currently, the textile chemicals business is part of BASF’s Performance Chemicals division.

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. BASF had sales of about EUR74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mexican state oil company Pemex said that it will transport mostly processed gasoline and diesel fuel through its pipelines in a bid to cut down on rampant fuel theft, said Reuters.

Pemex says it will finish processing the fuels at its storage terminals according to the plan, which will not be fully implemented nationwide for two months, a spokesperson said. Unfinished fuels are not suitable for use in cars and industrial plants.

The move is aimed at dissuading the country's motorists and industrial users from buying stolen gasoline from non-authorized sellers. The oil company said it lost 17 billion pesos (USD1.14 billion) last year due to fuel theft, more than double what it lost in 2013.

Last month, several sectors suffered fuel shortages as a consequence of fuel robbery through illegal taps in its sprawling network of pipelines, which often result in explosions and spills.

Pemex has admitted that workers, former employees, drug cartels and business people have been involved in the thefts.

As MRC informed earlier, in October 2014, Pemex and Exxon Mobil Corp signed a non-commercial agreement to jointly explore potential upstream and downstream business opportunities.

Pemex, Mexican Petroleum, is a Mexican state-owned petroleum company. Pemex has a total asset worth of USD415.75 billion, and is the world's second largest non-publicly listed company by total market value, and Latin America's second largest enterprise by annual revenue as of 2009. Company produces such polymers, as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS).

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