Hungarian Mol raises 2015 profit target as refining drives record earnings

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hungarian energy group Mol improved the profit guidance for 2015 after its refining unit helped post record earnings for the three months through June, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Net income jumped to 62.7 billion forint (US220 million) from 24 billion forint a year ago, the company said in a statement this week. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization on a clean-current cost of supplies basis rose 89% to 179.5 billion forint, the best ever result.

Downstream contributed more than two-thirds to this measure, the most closely watched for the group.

The company, which benefited from strengthening refining margins and growing demand, raised its clean-CCS Ebitda target for the full year by 10% to about USD2.2 billion.

Downstream conditions will be "positive but less supportive" in the remainder of 2015, chief financial officer Jozsef Simola said in a video posted on the company’s website.

"Mol’s performance will likely remain strong in the second-half of the year despite a less favorable refining environment," said David Sandor, the Budapest-based head of research at KBC Groep’s Hungarian brokerage.

As MRC informed before, in early 2015, MOL made a voluntary public tender offer on petrochemical works TVK. It bid HUF 4,984 for each of the outstanding ordinary shares of TVK based in Tiszaujvaros in eastern Hungary.

Tiszai Vegyi Kombinat (TVK) is a Hungarian manufacturer of olefins and polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene. Feedstock is supplied by MOL of which TVK is a subsidiary and which also processes a major portion of resulting by-products from the olefins plant.

MOL previously said Hungarian authorities had dismissed the allegations against MOL, which now holds a 49.1% share of INA. Hungary's government holds a 24.6% stake in MOL.
MRC

RTP Company acquires Polymer Partners

MOSCOW (MRC) -- RTP Company, a global compounder of custom engineered thermoplastics, has acquired Polymer Partners, a manufacturer of black concentrates and specialty compounds located in Henderson, Ky, according to Appliance Design.

The organization will be an integral part of RTP Company in the production of custom thermoplastics, with a special focus on black masterbatches and carbon black compounds suitable for wire and cable, pipe, sheet extrusion, film, bags, packaging, compounding, recycling and other applications in the automotive, medical, cosmetic, industrial and electronic industries.

With more than 20 years of experience, the Henderson facility will strengthen RTP Company’s geographic presence and will provide additional production capacity.

"The addition of the Henderson, Kentucky plant is yet another great step toward providing customers with the widest selection of compounding solutions," said Hugh Miller, President and CEO of RTP Company. "We look forward to being able to service the existing customers and the opportunity to provide them with an even broader array of products and services on a worldwide basis from RTP Company."

Although terms of the agreement were not disclosed, Polymer Partner employees were informed of the purchase and have been welcomed as part of the RTP Company organization.
MRC

US ethane consumption rose in Q2 after Williams Geismar plant came back online

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ethane consumption by US ethylene crackers rose by 35,795 bpd during Q2 on ongoing demand for the feedstock after Williams' Geismar, Louisiana, plant came back online in the first quarter, as per Plastemart.

Quarterly ethane consumption stood at 1.113mln bpd, according to the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufactures (AFPM).

Williams' Geismar plant came online towards the end of Q1 and ramped up during Q2.

As MRC reported earlier, capacity at the expanded Geismar plant is 1.95 billion pounds of ethylene per year. Williams Partners’ share of the total capacity of the expanded plant is approximately 1.7 billion pounds per year. Williams owns controlling interest in and is the general partner of Williams Partners.

Williams, headquartered in Tulsa, Okla., is one of the leading energy infrastructure companies in North America. It owns controlling interests in both Williams Partners L.P. and Access Midstream Partners, L.P. through its ownership of 100% of the general partner of each partnership. Additionally, Williams owns approximately 66% and 50% of the limited partner units of Williams Partners L.P. and Access Midstream Partners, L.P., respectively. On June 15, 2014 Williams proposed the merger of Williams Partners and Access Midstream Partners. The proposed merger has been approved by boards of each partnership and is expected to close in early 2015.
MRC

Lanxess raises guidance for 2015 following a strong second quarter

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Following a strong second quarter, specialty chemicals company Lanxess again raised its guidance for the full year 2015, said the producer on its site.

The company now expects to achieve EBITDA pre exceptionals within a corridor of EUR 840 million and EUR 880 million. It had previously assumed that EBITDA pre exceptionals for the full year would come in at between EUR 820 million and EUR 860 million.

"Lanxess is returning more and more to the right course. In the second quarter of this year, we posted a very good operating result to which all segments of our company contributed," said Matthias Zachert, Chairman of the Board of Management of Lanxess. "On the basis of these strong figures and the rapid implementation of our realignment program, we assume that our annual result will be higher than previously anticipated."

Sales improved by 4.3 percent in the second quarter of 2015 to EUR 2.1 billion, compared with EUR 2.0 billion in the prior-year quarter. Higher volumes and positive currency effects more than offset the raw material induced lower selling prices. EBITDA pre exceptionals increased by 13 percent from EUR 239 million to EUR 270 million. This development was driven by increased volumes, savings generated by the realignment, and positive currency effects due to the strong U.S. dollar. The EBITDA margin pre exceptionals rose accordingly to 12.8 percent, against 11.8 percent in the prior-year quarter.

Net income improved by a substantial 58.2 percent to EUR 87 million from EUR 55 million a year earlier. Operational development and proceeds from the sale of noncurrent assets contributed to this increase.

At around EUR 1.4 billion, net financial liabilities were almost at the same level as at the end of 2014. Following the completion of major projects in Asia, capital expenditures declined by more than half in the second quarter against the prior-year quarter from EUR 154 million to EUR 73 million. "The financial consolidation measures we have implemented as part of our realignment process are taking effect," said Lanxess CFO Michael Pontzen. "This development was recently rewarded by the rating agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's when both confirmed our investment-grade rating with stable outlook."

Higher volumes, positive currency effects and raw material induced lower prices characterized business development in the Performance Polymers segment and resulted overall in sales of around EUR 1.1 billion. This represents an increase of 3.5 percent against the prior-year figure of around EUR 1 billion. EBITDA pre exceptionals for this segment climbed by 22.1 percent to EUR 149 million, compared with EUR 122 million in the second quarter of 2014.

The three-phase realignment program initiated by Lanxess last year continues to progress on schedule. The company has already successfully implemented the first phase. Measures of the second phase, aimed at improving operational competitiveness, have also been initiated. They include the reorganization of the production networks for its rubber types EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) and Nd-PBR (neodymium-based performance butadiene rubber).

The third phase of the program is focused on improving the competitiveness of the business portfolio, especially through potential alliances in the rubber business. "In this connection, we are currently engaged in very constructive discussions and assume that we will achieve concrete results in the course of the second half of the year," said Zachert.

As MRC reported earlier, the new Rhein Chemie Additives business unit of specialty chemicals company Lanxess has developed innovative halogen-free flame retardants that are based in part on a newly developed type of phosphorus chemistry. These are characterized by low fogging and scorching, making them ideal for use in the furniture and automotive industries.

Lanxess is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 8.0 billion in 2014 and about 16,600 employees in 29 countries. The company is currently represented at 52 production sites worldwide. The core business of Lanxess is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.
MRC

PP foam of BASF meets fire safety requirements

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The expanded polypropylene (PP) foam Neopolen P reFLAM of BASF meets fire safety requirements of the aviation industry for applications in aircraft, reported BASF on its site.

The new material was tested in an institution certified by the aviation industry, in accordance with the specification CS25.853, and is approved for molding densities from 36g/l to 75g/l in accordance with applicable requirements. The certification allows Neopolen P reFLAM to be used in numerous applications with the highest fire safety requirements, particularly those found in the aviation sector.

"The level of interest in new, lightweight and at the same time flame-retardant materials is very high, particularly in the aviation industry", says Carsten Junghans, Key Account Manager Specialty Particle Foams Europe. It is in particular the high thermal insulation characteristic but also the almost unlimited scope for shaping that make this particle foam so versatile. "Neopolen P reFLAM now provides manufacturers with a foam material which combines these requirements and enables a wide variety of different applications."

The certification allows Neopolen P reFlam to be used, for example, in fitting out the aircraft cabin, in specific applications in the on-board kitchen, but also as a material to provide comfort for passengers and crew.

Specification CS25.853 is a standardized specification which serves as the basis for assessing the fire safety characteristics of materials using precisely defined criteria. The institutions that conduct the investigations are subject to strict certification and have the accreditation required to issue test certificates for aviation.

Neopolen P reFLAM is an advanced development of the expanded polypropylene foam Neopolen. The material owes its enhanced level of fire safety to its special flame-retardant additives. In addition, the metallic-gray material offers a further improvement in thermal insulation properties and meets the requirements of REACH and those of the ROHS Directive and its amendments.

As MRC reported earlier, in june 2014, BASF undertook three key capacity expansion projects for performance materials at its Pudong site in Shanghai (China). The capacity expansion projects includes Ultramid (polyamide, PA), Ultradur (polybutylene terephthalate, PBT), Elastollan thermoplastics polyurethane elastomers (TPU), and Technical Center and capacity expansion of Cellasto (microcellular polyurethane components).

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.
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