Petrobras first-quarter profit seen falling on output, costs

MOSCOW (MRC) - Brazil's state-run oil company, Petroleo Brasileiro SA, will likely report a one-third drop in first-quarter profit from a year earlier, on slack output, rising costs and a weakening Brazilian currency that erased gains from a fuel-price increase, said Reuters.

Net income in the period likely fell 32 percent to 5.24 billion reais (USD2.41 billion), according to the average forecast of 11 analysts surveyed by Reuters. Net income in the first quarter likely fell 17% from the fourth quarter. Petrobras plans to report first-quarter results after markets close on Friday.

The company is struggling to implement a USD221 billion, five-year investment plan as government fuel-price controls and soaring costs starve the company of cash. Rio de Janeiro-based Petrobras has the highest debt levels and lowest profitability of any major oil company.

Despite giant new offshore oil and gas discoveries, investors have been shunning its shares. Six years ago it was one of the world's 10 biggest companies by market value. Today's market cap of USD102 billion is only about one-third of its 2008 peak.

Petrobras' annual profit could rise by more than half in 2014 from 2013 to 36.2 billion reais if the company is more skillfully managed and freed by the government to raise domestic gasoline and diesel prices in line with world prices, Paula Kovarsky, oil company analyst at Banco Itau BBA in Sao Paulo, wrote on Thursday in a note to investors.

The company, though, faces a series of difficulties dragging on revenue, cash flow and profit. Petrobras' average oil and natural gas output in the first quarter was the lowest in five years, the result of slipping flows from older fields and regular delays in bringing giant, new offshore areas on line. As MRC wrote before, Petrobras, was in talks to sell off its Argentine unit as part of a USD9.9 billion divestment plan.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. or Petrobras is a semi-public Brazilian multinational energy corporation headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest company in the Southern Hemisphere by market capitalization and the largest in Latin America measured by 2011 revenues.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF offers high performance Ultramid (polyamide), which is derived from renewable raw materials with certified biomass, said the company in its press release.

The share of renewable raw materials in the sales product is then indicated in the respective quantity. A third-party certification confirms to customers that BASF has used the required quantities of renewable raw materials which the customer has ordered in the value chain.

The resulting Ultramid, which is produced according to the so called mass balance approach, is identical in terms of formulation and quality but associated with lower green house gas emissions and saving of fossil resources . Also , existing plants and technologies along the value chain can continue to be used without changes.

As MRC wrote previously, BASF is building a new Ultramid polymerization plant with a capacity of 100,000 metric tons per year in Shanghai, China. The new plant is planned to start up in 2015.

With over 60 years' experience, BASF is the leading supplier of high-quality polyamides and polyamide intermediates for technical plastics, films, fibers and monofilaments. Its product range includes Ultramid B (polyamide 6), Ultramid C (polyamide 6/6.6 copolymer) and Ultramid A (polyamide 6.6).

BASF operates Ultramid polymerization plants in Ludwigshafen, Germany; Antwerp, Belgium; Freeport, Texas and Sao Paulo, Brazil. The production of polyamide for film, textile and carpet fiber as well as for engineering plastics applications is integrated into BASF’s global Verbund structure with polyamide intermediates (i.e. adipic acid, anolon, caprolactam), chemical raw materials (i.e. ammonia, cyclohexane, sulfuric acid), energy, by-product recovery, logistics and other services.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- It looks as though the last remaining PET plant belonging to La Seda (Barcelona / Spain), at the north Italian site of San Giorgio di Nogaro will go to Selenis (Portalegre / Portugal), said Plasteurope.

La Seda is currently in the process of liquidation. According to Italian media reports, Selenis is the only one of the four original bidders left with a notarised offer. The Portuguese are willing to pay EUR 1m and take on 30 of the 107 employees. The facility, with an annual capacity of some 200,000 t, has apparently been idle since November 2013.

The transaction is, however, far from being signed and sealed. To begin with, the insolvency court in Barcelona first has to agree to the deal. Secondly, the excluded bidder Ottana Polymers (Ottana / Italy) is, according to regional reports, considering an appeal. The joint venture of the world PET market leader, Indorama Ventures (IVL, Bangkok / Thailand), apparently submitted its bid too late, which means that the notary turned it down for formal reasons. A representative of the Italian company is quoted as saying that intensive discussions are currently being held with the lawyers about the chances of success of an appeal.

Last year, Invista Performance Technologies has acquired from La Seda de Barcelona SA intellectual property relating to its leading purified terephthalic acid (PTA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and related process technologies, including the full rights to exclusively license the technologies in the region comprising Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Indorama recently acquired La Seda’s Turkish PET facility. But this is certainly not the first time that Selenis has been linked to La Seda either. The company belongs to the Imatosgil Investimentos group of Portuguese entrepreneur Matos Gil, once a major shareholder of La Seda. In 2011, Selenis had already bought back the smaller PET facility in Portalegre from La Seda.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PolyOne Corporation, a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, has reported USD1 billion in revenue for the first quarter of 2014, a 25% increase compared to USD801 million in the first quarter of 2013, as per the company's press release.

"I am extremely pleased to report another record-setting quarter for PolyOne," said Stephen D. Newlin, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our Specialty platform led the way as Global Color Additives and Inks and Global Specialty Engineered Materials delivered milestone levels of operating income and profitability, and we continue to drive synergies from the Spartech acquisition. In addition, our Distribution platform achieved record sales and operating income for the quarter."

Mr. Newlin continued, "Our core values of collaboration, innovation and excellence are woven into the fabric of PolyOne. Our commitment to these values, underpinned by the execution of our four-pillar strategy, has led to 18 consecutive quarters of strong, double-digit adjusted earnings per share growth. Our innovation pipeline remains robust with unique, differentiated solutions for high-growth end markets, like healthcare, transportation, consumer and packaging, which are poised to drive our growth far into the future."

Commenting on the first quarter results, Robert M. Patterson, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer said, "Our first quarter performance highlights accelerating momentum driven by Specialty platform growth and impressive year-over-year gains from Performance Products and Solutions and Distribution as well. This momentum fortifies our confidence to continue to meet or exceed our aggressive goals for margin expansion and EPS growth."

Mr. Richardson continued, "During the quarter, we repurchased approximately 1.4 million shares at an average price of USD35.42, bringing the total share buyback since April of 2013, to 6.4 million. We expect to complete the repurchase of all 10 million shares issued in conjunction with the acquisition of Spartech by the first quarter of 2015."

As MRC informed earlier, in April 2014, PolyOne Corporation has established a new Innovation Center in Shanghai, China. The new facility will facilitate collaboration, accelerate application development and increase speed-to-market for customers in the Asia Pacific region.

PolyOne Corporation, with 2013 revenues of USD3.8 billion, is a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions. PolyOne is a provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, polymer distribution and specialty vinyl resins.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF and Yara have made good progress with their plan to jointly build a world-scale ammonia plant on the US Gulf Coast, reported BASF on its site.

The proposed plant would be located at the existing BASF site in Freeport, Texas, have an annual capacity of 750,000 metric tons, and be based on a hydrogen-synthesis process.

Further details of the planned joint venture are currently under discussion between the parties. The project is subject to final approval from the respective boards of directors of BASF and Yara.

BASF, which has a strong presence in the United States, is currently a major user of ammonia for its US downstream activities and intends to further strengthen its backward integration. Yara, with its global ammonia network and market expertise, seeks to strengthen its presence in the United States.

As MRC informed previously, BASF has recently doubled capacity of its non-phthalate plasticizer Hexamoll DINCH from 100,000 metric tons to 200,000 metric tons per year at its site in Ludwigshafen, Germany. With a second Hexamoll DINCH plant BASF will satisfy growing customer demand and strengthen supply security worldwide while continuing to ensure consistently high quality.

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. BASF had sales of about EUR74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year.
MRC