PKN ORLEN reported consolidated financial results in 2013

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Last year, the ORLEN Group consistently pursued its strategic objectives and operational goals, said the producer in its press-release.

The company paid out dividend for the first time since 2008, at a yield of 3.8% (based on the average ORLEN stock price in 2012), and regained, after four years, investment grade ratings from Fitch and Moody's. It also diversified its financing sources through a successful PLN 700m issue of retail bonds. Development projects in the exploration and production and power generation segments continued to proceed on schedule, and the Group was joined by TriOil following acquisition of an equity interest in the Canadian production company. Concurrently, by the end of Q4 2013 PKN ORLEN reduced its debt by PLN 2.2bn, to PLN 4.6bn.

Despite these strategic achievements, the steady decline in refining margins, coupled with expansion of the grey economy, weighed heavily on the ORLEN Group's financial performance in 2013. The poorer results posted by the refining segment were partly offset by improvements in the petrochemical and retail segments.
In 2013, PKN ORLEN reported - LIFO-based EBITDA of PLN 3.2bn, revenue of PLN 113.8bn, positive operating cash flow of PLN 5.7bn, crude oil throughput up 1% year on year, total sales volume of nearly 36m tonnes, very good operating result of the retail segment at PLN 1.3bn, and of the petrochemical segment at PLN 2bn.

A very solid result of PLN 420m was posted by the petrochemical segment, though the amount was slightly less than in Q4 2012, mainly due to lower margins on petrochemical products. The weakening of the average PLN/EUR exchange rate and higher sales of fertilizers, PTA and PVC also contributed, although lower sales volumes of olefins and polyolefins caused by maintenance shutdowns earlier in the year partially offset the result.

The refining segment continued to be strongly affected by macroeconomic factors. At the end of last year, it had to cope with the lowest refining margin and Ural/Bent differential since 2002, whose negative effect on the segment's results was as much as PLN 552m. All in all, the LIFO-based EBITDA came in at PLN 51m. Higher sales volumes in Poland and improved fuel yields from the Plock and Mazeikiai refineries were among the refining segment's operating achievements in Q4 2013, although these were offset by lower sales in the markets served by ORLEN Lietuva and in the Czech Republic.

As MRC informed previously, in mid-June 2013 PKN Orlen offered for sale a second PLN 200m tranche of its bonds and expects the proceeds from the entire bond issue programme to reach approximately PLN 1bn. This move was done in response to the enormous interest in PKN Orlen bonds on the part of investors, who subscribed to the entire PLN 200m of the first series of bonds in just two days.

Polski Koncern Naftowy ORLEN S.A. (PKN Orlen) is a Polish oil and gas company. It has a lot of petrol stations in Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Slovakia. It is the biggest company in Poland and one of the biggest oil and gas companies in Europe. Polish group PKN Orlen PKNA is a majority owner - 63% of czech polyolefins manufacturer Unipetrol.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Total SA and China Power Investment Corp. (CPI) have received clearance from China's National Development and Reform Commission for a planned USD 4-billion coal-to-olefins project in Inner Mongolia, reported GV with reference to several sources.

In 2011, Total, CPI and the provincial government of Inner Mongolia signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement for the project.

Total and CPI have conducted a feasibility study for a complex to produce 1-million t/y of polyethylene and polypropylene using Total’s methanol-to-olefins and olefins cracking technologies. Production is expected after 2017.

The Methanol to Olefins (MTO) technology allows the production of propylene and ethylene from methanol, which can be obtained from various feedstocks such as natural gas, coal or biomass. In combination with the OCP process, it allows a very high yield of polyolefin production.

CPI is one of the five biggest energy producers in China with a particularly strong position in coal mining and transformation of coal into energy.

Total S.A. is one of the largest integrated international oil and gas companies with operations in more than 130 countries worldwide. TPRI is a major producer of base chemicals, styrene, polystyrene, polypropylene and polyethylene in the United States.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Traders have increased their offer prices of expandable polystyrene (EPS) for the Ukrainian domestic market on the back of higher prices of European producers in January and the weakening of the hryvnya, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Traders' offer prices rose by an average of UAH400/tonne from early 2014, following the weakening of the hryvnya against the dollar, despite a reduction of USD50/tonne in Russian export EPS prices for January shipments. A trader said the devaluation had completely offset the discount SIBUR gave for January.

Traders' offers were heard in the range of UAH21,700-21,900/tonne CPT Kiev, including VAT, at the end of the week. Despite the overall weak demand, companies did not want to make concessions to their customers, because of the increased procurement costs (in terms of the national currency), a source said.

Converters said purchase prices had also risen in Europe. Contract European EPS prices for January shipments increased by EUR35-40/tonne. The rising euro only contributed to it, a converter said.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Munich-based chemical group Wacker is strengthening its presence in India by opening its expanded technical center for silicone products in Amtala near Kolkata, according to the company's press release.

Operated by the joint venture Wacker Metroark Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. (WMC), the enlarged regional competence center now comprises state-of-the-art applications technology and test equipment for silicone products needed in the textiles, personal care and construction industry.

The chemical Group is thus responding to the growing demand for silicone products and the emerging needs of regional customers for technical support and expertise. The investment amounts to around half a million Euro.

Continued growth in the Asian region prompted enlarging the technical center in the north-east of India. The extended center, now spanning about 1,800 square meters and furnished with state-of-the-art equipment, supports silicone customers in the personal care, textile, automotive and construction sector in the development of new products and applications for the region’s markets. This will help Wacker enhance its position as a market and technology leader for high-quality silicone products.

As MRC reported earlier, in 2013, Wacker Chemie AG officially launched its new production plant for ethylene-vinyl-acetate copolymer (EVA) dispersions at its Ulsan site in South Korea. The additional 40,000 tonnes from the second reactor line increases the site's EVA-dispersion capacity to a total of 90,000 tonnes per year. The production capacity of the site, thus, almost doubled, making the plant complex one of the biggest of its kind in South Korea.

Wacker Chemie AG is a worldwide operating company in the chemical business, founded 1914. The company is controlled by the Wacker-family holding more than 50 percent of the shares. The corporation is operating more than 25 production sites in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The product range includes silicone rubbers, polymer products like ethylene vinyl acetate redispersible polymer powder, chemical materials, polysilicon and wafers for semiconductor industry.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Taiwan's state-run oil refiner CPC Corp. is in plans to shut its No.5 steam cracker for maintenance turnaround, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Taiwan informed that the cracker is planned to be shut in early May 2014. It is likely to stay off-stream for around three months.

Located in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, the cracker has an ethylene capacity of 500,000 mt/year and propylene capacity of 250,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, Taiwan’s state-run oil refiner CPC Corp. will enter into a strategic alliance with Japan's Mitsubishi Corp. The alliance will give CPC an overseas research and development partner for the first time. CPC also hopes to be able to obtain raw materials and patented technologies through Mitsubishi's global trade network to support a plan to tap into the downstream side of the petrochemical business.

CPC Corporation is a state-owned petroleum, natural gas, and gasoline company in Taiwan and is the core of the Taiwanese petrochemicals industry.
MRC