PolyOne Announces 25% Increase in Quarterly Dividend

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Board of Directors of PolyOne Corporation has declared a quarterly cash dividend of ten cents (USD0.10) per share on the common stock outstanding, representing a 25% increase to the quarterly cash dividend and the fourth consecutive year of annual dividend growth, reported the company in its statement,

The USD0.10 per share will be paid on January 7, 2015, to stockholders of record on December 15, 2014.

"We have increased our annual dividend 250% since we initiated it in 2011," said Robert M. Patterson, president and chief executive officer, PolyOne Corporation. "This reflects the rapid pace at which we have strengthened our financial performance, and underscores the confidence we have in our ability to continue to achieve accelerated earnings expansion into 2015 and beyond."

As MRC wrote before, in Q2 2014, the Board of Directors of PolyOne Corporation declared a quarterly cash dividend of USD0.08 per share on the common stock outstanding, to be paid on October 3, 2014, to stockholders of record on September 12, 2014.

We remind that in early 2014, PolyOne Corporation announced the addition of new capabilities to its OnColor HC Plus portfolio. These expanded offerings add medical-grade LDPE, nylon, PEBA, PS and PVC to the globally available palette of specialty healthcare colorants, and are pre-certified to meet or exceed biocompatibility requirements for ISO 10993 and/or USP Class VI protocols.

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) -- Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) will invest about USD16 billion to expand petrochemical production capacity and lower feed and fuel costs to boost profits, said Plastemart.

According to a report by Barclays Equity Research, RIL is investing USD4.6 bln in an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) project that will convert captive petrocoke to synthetic gas (syngas) which can be used to generate power, steam and hydrogen, which currently are being produced using expensive imported LNG. Refinery off-gas from this unit will be used to extract petrochemical compounds like ethane, ethylene, propylene, butanes and propanes at a USD4.5 bln Refinery off-gas cracker (ROGC). Another USD5 bln is being spent on expanding polyester production capacity. USD1.5 bln will go towards importing ethane from US to replace higher cost propane imports and naphtha. The projects will be completed by FY-18.

As MRC informed previously, RIL had announced that it would invest over Rs 100,000 crore in expansion of its petrochemical capacities and adding value to its refining business. Besides, in October 2012, the company unveiled its plans to expand capacity at its refineries in the western state of Gujarat.

Reliance is also building one of the world’s largest ethylene crackers taking advantage of refinery integration at Jamnagar. This project will be commissioned in H2-2016 and would nearly double the ethylene capacity to 3.3 mln tpa.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. The company's polymer production in 2010-11 (polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride) made 4,094 kilo tonnes.MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) dropped over the three quarters of 2014 by 11% year on year and totalled 27,500 tonnes, according to MRC ScanPlast.

At the same time, September ABS imports increased by 34% year on year to nearly 4,000 tonnes.

There have been no changes in the supply structure. Russian companies still prefer South Korean ABS. S. Korean ABS grades accounted for 75% in the total imports.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, prices of Korean ABS were heard in the range of Rb103,500-108,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, in the Russian domestic spot market. Prices of Russian ABS of Plastik, Uzlovaya were in the range of Rb96,000-98,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kazanorgsшntez (part of TAIF), Russia's largest polyethylene (PE) producer, has resumed its high density polyethylene (HDPE) production after a scheduled turnaround, reported MRC analysts.

Kazanorgsintez started a gradual HDPE resumption after nearly a four-week outage for maintenance works. One of plant's three reactors had resumed production by Monday, 13 October. The other HDPE reactors will be re-started in the next few days. The plant's annual production capacity is 540,000 tonnes of HDPE.

Kazanorgsintez initially planned a gradual resumption of HDPE production as early as the middle of last week, but it was postpones for a few days due to technical issues.

Kazanorgsintez, a wholly owned subsidiary of the TAIF group, is one of the largest chemical producers in the Russian Federation and Russia's largest polyethylene (PE) producer. The plant produces more than 38% of all Russian PE and is its largest exporter. The company also occupies a leading position in the production of gas polyethylene pipes, phenol, acetone, antifreeze, chemicals for oil and natural gas dehydration. The plant's overall HDPE production totalled 353,800 tonnes over the first eight months of 2014, up by 8% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- CB&I and Chevron Lummus Global, a joint venture (JV) between CB&I and Chevron, has been awarded a contract in excess of USD100 million by Bahrain Petroleum Co. (Bapco), said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The scope of work includes the license of JV’s LC-FINING and ISOCRACKING technologies and engineering design packages for the new residue hydrocracking and vacuum gasoil hydrocracking units for the Bapco modernization program.

"Chevron Lummus Global has provided hydroprocessing technologies and catalysts for the production of clean transportation fuels and high-quality lubricant base oils at this refinery for past projects. The Bapco modernization program will expand the Bapco refinery capacity and introduce further depth of conversion and upgrading of heavy oil," said Daniel McCarthy, president of CB&I's technology operating group.

"The selection by Bapco to be its key technology provider underlines CB&I and Chevron Lummus Global's lead position in heavy oil upgrading."

Chevron Lummus Global's technologies upgrade low-value residual oils to high-value and high-quality, middle distillate products that meet the most stringent specifications.

Chevron Phillips Chemical recently announced the construction of a world-scale ethylene cracker in Baytown, Texas, two world-scale polyethylene reactors in Old Ocean, Texas and the start-up of the world’s largest 1-hexene facility in Baytown. The 1-hexene plant, capable of producing up to 250,000 tpy, is co-located with this expansion project at the Cedar Bayou plant. Chevron says the two plants will enjoy synergies as they both share the same infrastructure and workforce talent.

Chevron Phillips Chemica, headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas (north of Houston), US,l is one of the world’s top producers of olefins and polyolefins and a leading supplier of aromatics, alpha olefins, styrenics, specialty chemicals, piping, and proprietary plastics. Chevron and Phillips 66 each own 50% of Chevron Phillips Chemical.
MRC