LLDPE prices increased significantly in Russia on weaker rouble

Moscow (MRC) - Price of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) significantly rose in January on the back of weakening rouble in the Russian market. Price offer for LLDPE grew to Rb76,000/tonne in the late January, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Russian market of linear polyethylene is totally dependent on imports, as a consequence, the price situation in foreign markets directly affects the prices in the local market. Price offer for LLDPE in the foregn markets has begun rising since December 2013, but January depreciation of the Russian rouble has contributed several times to it.

Price for Middle Eastern butene LLDPE C4 in January surged to Rb76,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.
Back in early January price offer Nizhnekamsk's LLDPE was heard in the range of Rb64,000-66,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.

Residues of Russian LLDPE was sold in the second half of the month. The offers for North American and Middle Eastern LLDPE C4 are currently available in the market , however, prices are significantly stronger than in December, because of the exchange rate of dollar against the rouble.

Price offers for butene LLDPE with MFI = 1 have been heard from Rb70,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.
Prices for LLDPE with MFI=3 were in the range of Rb68,600-69,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.
Many Russian converters had to limit their current purchases of linear polyethylene, because of such a high price level.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Dow Chemical Company, the largest US chemical maker by sales, has announced that its Board of Directors has declared a 15% increase in the first quarter dividend, from USD0.32 per share to USD0.37 per share, reported the company in its statement.

In line with its stated priorities, the company also announced that it has expanded its authorized share buy-back program to USD4.5 billion from USD1.5 billion of common stock to be completed in 2014.

Collectively, the increase to Dow’s dividend and expansion of its stock repurchase objectives represent the latest in a series of strategic actions aligned to the company’s previously-communicated plans to consistently and increasingly remunerate shareholders through ongoing earnings growth.

"The Board’s actions today finalize a decision that it has been reviewing on an ongoing basis with particular focus over the last several quarters. The 15% dividend increase and the USD4.5 billion share repurchase authorization reflect our confidence in Dow's performance and successful strategy to operate in uncertain macro environments. This strategy focuses on our integrated portfolio, with strict productivity metrics and disciplined capital allocation priorities," said Andrew N. Liveris, Dow’s chairman and chief executive officer.

The dividend will be payable on April 30, 2014 to shareholders of record on March 31, 2014. This will mark the 410th consecutive cash dividend issued by the company. Dow has paid its shareholders cash dividends every quarter since 1912. Purchases under the shareholder repurchase program may be made over time in open market or privately negotiated transactions.

As MRC wrote before, in December 2013, The Dow Chemical Company declared a dividend of 32 cents per share, payable 30 January, 2014, to shareholders of record on 31 Decenber, 2013. This marks the 409th consecutive cash dividend issued by the company. Dow has paid its shareholders cash dividends every quarter since 1912.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene (PS), polyurethane, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and synthetic rubber. In 2012, Dow had annual sales of approximately USD57 billion. The сompany's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 188 sites in 36 countries across the globe.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Aiming to strengthen its customer-centric innovation and drive growth, Styrolution has announced a new organizational unit: Global Focus Industries and R&D, according to the company's press release.

The unit will be led by styrenics industry veteran, Rob Buntinx, with a mandate to better serve customers in key focus industries worldwide through industry-specific account management and services. The group's R&D arm will further emphasize application-driven collaborative innovation with customers.

The formation of the new unit aligns with the company's growth strategy, which calls for three ‘shifts' intended to put greater focus on three areas: higher-growth industries, ABS Standard and styrenic specialties, and emerging markets.

Due to the region-specific requirements of customers in automotive, electronics, and healthcare, they will continue to be served regionally. In order to ensure customers benefit from Styrolution's profound expertise in these areas, global and regional coordinators will facilitate transfer of best practices.

The addition of Global R&D and Intellectual Property to the new organizational unit will help Styrolution further focus its innovation efforts on industry trends and customer needs by tying research more strongly to application development. One key initiative to be fully implemented in 2014 is the new R&D partnership between Styrolution, the independent research and technology development provider NMB, and the University of Bayreuth. This partnership is meant to further strengthen the company's strong position in key industries through a focus on customer-centric innovation, as well as strategic projects like 3D printing and lightweight structures.

As MRC reported previously, in December, 2013, Styrolution announced measures to better serve customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). New initiatives include the optimization of Styrolution's production network in Germany and the opening of a regional specialties logistics center.

The Styrolution Group GmbH is a global provider of styrenics , headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. The company is a joint venture between BASF (50%) and INEOS (50%), were merged into the main styrene operations of the two partners. Its main focus is on the production of monomer, polystyrene, styrenic specialties, and ABS. The company offers styrene plastics for a variety of everyday products from different industries, such as automotive, electronics, construction, household, leisure, packaging, medicine and health.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- England's Petainer, leading plastic container supplier, has opened a new site in Russia producing recyclable PET beer kegs and water cooler bottles for the local market, reported the company on its site.

The factory, which is located 40 miles from Moscow in Klin, is equipped with a state-of-the-art SIDE blowing machine capable of manufacturing 700 kegs per hour, up to a maximum keg size of 50kg.

The facility is currently supplying 20 and 30-litre PetainerKegs to customers in Russia, as well as Belarus and the Ukraine.

Annemieke Hartman-Jemmett, Strategy Director at Petainer, said: "Russia is a very important market and our Klin factory will enable us to tap into the rapid growth opportunities in this part of the world. The new production unit boasts the very latest technology and produces kegs and containers that adhere to the highest quality, safety and environmental standards."

PetainerKegs are lightweight beverage containers manufactured in recyclable PET, offering economic and environmental benefits when compared with metal kegs and other plastic variants. They are available with one-way, low cost fittings that enable them to be connected to existing tapping systems for draught beer.

PetainerCoolers are also made out of PET, and contain zero bisphenol-A (BPA), making them a safer alternative to other coolers on the market. They are environmentally friendly, returnable and refillable, and designed to be compatible with major water cooler dispensers or dispensing systems.

As MRC wrote previously, in 2012, Petainer agreed to a multimillion Euro investment package over the coming 12 months to strengthen its PET container manufacturing plant in Lidkoping, Sweden. This initiative includes an initial order for a Husky HPP injection machine, which will be followed by additional investments focused on growth and supporting the current customer base.

Petainer is a specialist engineering and technology business, an industry leader in the development, design and manufacture of PET (polyEthylene terephthalate) plastic containers.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Leading chemicals company Perstorp introduces a new business model, a new organizational structure, a new management team and a cost competitiveness program, said the producer in its press release.

New business model and organizational structure to ensure true customer focus. Perstorp has defined a new business model acknowledging the clear difference in customer behavior in an intermediate marketplace driven by supply and demand as opposed to a specialty marketplace, driven by knowledge, application know-how and value-added services. This has resulted in the allocation of Perstorp’s products into the two Business Areas of Intermediates & Derivatives and Specialties & Solutions.

To support the new business model Perstorp has implemented a new functional organization as of January 1, 2014. The company has also appointed three new Executive Vice Presidents recruited from the outside to complement the current team in managing the transformation of Perstorp: Gorm Jensen appointed EVP BA Intermediates & Derivatives, Joke Driessen appointed EVP Operations and Wolfgang Laures appointed EVP Supply Chain.

A challenging business climate over the last years has resulted in eroding margins and weakening financial performance for the Perstorp Group. The extensive self-examination conducted last fall, in combination with the transition into a functional organization, has led to the need of strengthening the organization within certain areas as well as the need to eliminate duplicate roles.

As MRC wrote before, Perstorp restarted production at its oxo-alcohols plant in Stenungsund, Sweden, on 10 October 2013. Unspecified technical problems had delayed the restart of the plant following a planned eight-day turnaround.
MRC