SIBUR increases net income

MOSCOW (SIBUR) -- According to the consolidated financial results for 2009, JSC SIBUR Holding revenues fell year-on-year by 7% down to 161.4 billion rubles with an EBITDA decrease by 21.9% to 31.8 billion rubles. However, net profit increased by 20.6% and reached 19.3 billion rubles.

The main factor behind the decrease in revenues and EBITDA was the fall in the demand for petrochemical products and the narrowing of the price range both in domestic and foreign markets. Net profit grew due to the sale of non-core assets (the methanol business), the decrease in spending on the profit tax and the use of financial insurance instruments based on changes in exchange rates.

Investments in production expansion and modernization totaled 27.6 billion rubles in 2009 (33.6 billion rubles in 2008).

In spite of the economic crisis, the company managed to implement such major projects as putting into operation the second phase of the Yuzhno-Balyksky gas processing plant, wastewater treatment facilities at the Voronezhsintezkauchuk plant and installations for the production of geosynthetic materials, as well as the upgrading of the ABS/PC composites production at the Plastik plant. Moreover, the company launched production of new types of rubber at the Voronezhsintezkauchuk plant and the Krasnoyarsk synthetic rubber plant. A new cable plasticate production line was launched at the Kaprolaktam plant in the Nizhni Novgorod region. The company continued to finance the construction of the largest plants in this country to produce polypropylene in Tobolsk and PVC in the Nizhni Novgorod region.

As of the end of 2009, the net debt to EBITDA ratio was 1.36 matching the international average for the sector. This leaves the possibility to add to the debt burden for the implementation of the investment program.

In 2009, JSC SIBUR Holding's main shareholder Gazprom with the purpose of financing the development of the company contributed to the authorized capital of SIBUR Holding 9 billion rubles through the additional issue of shares. Registration of the issue of 3,469,545 shares with the face value of 1,000 rubles a share was completed in January 2010.

Last year, the company made some changes in the composition of its assets. Among noteworthy events should be mentioned the acquisition of the international petrochemical trader CITCO and a 50-percent stake in Biaksplen Ltd. Russia's largest manufacturer of BOPP film.

MRCMRC Reference

Sibur Holding is the largest Russian petrochemical group.

Shareholders:
Gazprombank (70% minus 1 share);
Gazfond (25% plus 1 share);
5% reserved for option program.


Main construction works complete in Omsk polypropylene plant

(Vesti) - In Omsk polypropylene plant the establishment of new forty meters high reactor was completed. This was the main and one of the most important steps in construction works. Today the establishment of technological equipment is on going. Launch of the facility is scheduled for the end of this year.



The project of polypropylene plant is included into Omsk oblast investment program. The plant is going to produce up to 180 kt of over 80 polypropylene grades annually. Such a wide range isn't offered by any of existing Russian companies.



MRC

Aramco and Total start negotiations about new perochemical plant

June 8 (Bloomberg) -- Saudi Aramco, the world's largest state-owned oil company, and Total SA are discussing building a petrochemicals plant alongside a joint refinery project that they are developing at Jubail.

The partners began talks more than a year ago about building a cracker that could use byproducts from the joint refinery, Michel Govaerts, Total's general manager for business development in the Middle East and Asia, said today.

MRC

Krauss Maffei improves financial results in 2010

(prw) -- With incoming orders up 25% on the same time last year, KraussMaffei Group CEO Dr Dietmar Straub is ⌠cautiously optimistic that the plastics machinery maker has seen the worst of the downturn and predicts a return to sales growth in its next financial year.

Speaking in Zurich at a meeting to lay out the group's plans for the K fair in the autumn, Straub said he expected sales for the period to the end of September this year to total around ┬750m.

That result will be slightly ahead of the 2009 sales of ┬742m but a long way short of the record figure of ┬1.05bn achieved in the 2007-2008 financial year. However, with incoming orders for 2009-2010 predicted to amount to around ┬800m (total incoming orders for last year amounted to ┬644m), Straub believes the group - which includes KraussMaffei, Netstal and Berstorff - is firmly back on a growth path.

MRC

Battenfeld-Cincinnati introduces a new extruder

(prw) -- Battenfeld-Cincinnati has created a new extruder which it claims is ideal for newcomers to the wood plastic composites (WPC) market.

⌠The wide range of outputs of the conical counter-rotating machine, from 90 to 275 kg/h, makes it possible to extrude a great variety of different profiles with only one machine - an attribute frequently demanded especially by newcomers. - says the firm.

The fiberexK72 can produce pre-blended compounds as well as agglomerates based on PVC, PE or PP. It comes with closed-loop screw core tempering, AC drive and a vacuum unit with twin filter as standard.

MRC