MOSCOW (MRC) -- Braskem SA (BAK) reported first-quarter net income of USD456.3 mln, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier, said the company.
The Butanta, Brazil-based company said it had net income of USD1.15 per share. The petrochemical company posted revenue of USD4.15 billion in the period.
Braskem shares have more than doubled since the beginning of the year. The stock has more than doubled in the last 12 months.
Braskem swung to a first-quarter net profit of reais (R) 2.49bn from a loss of R3.65bn in the same period of last year
Q1 recurring operating result surged, reflecting the 23% depreciation in the Brazilian real against the U.S. dollar.
Resin demand in the Brazilian market increased in the first quarter, led by healthy demand from various sectors of the economy, notably the automotive, infrastructure, agribusiness, construction, home appliance and packaging industries.
Compared to Q1 2020, the capacity utilisation rate of the crackers in Brazil increased, reflecting the non-scheduled shutdown of the cracker in Rio Grande do Sul in the prior year quarter.
Braskem America plans to raise North American polypropylene (PP) prices by 8 cents / lb (USD176/tonne) in addition to any changes in propylene feedstock prices from June 1. PP demand continues to be strong in the region thanks to increased manufacturing activity as well as increased demand for PP packaging and PP for filaments and fibers driven by the pandemic. Earlier it was reported that Braskem America in April raised the price of polypropylene (PP) by 12 cents per pound (USD265 /tonne).
According to the ICIS-MRC Price Report, in the Russian spot market last week the decline in prices for propylene homopolymer (PP-homo) continued for some sellers, and converters expect further price declines in May. In the contract market, on the contrary, the processors noted the rise in prices and quite serious.
Based in Sao Paulo, Braskem is a leading Brazilian petrochemical company and the main producer of polyethylene and polypropylene in the country. The company owns the largest petrochemical facilities in Latin America and is the fifth largest in the world in petrochemical production. Braskem operates 18 chemical plants with a production capacity of over 11 million tonnes of chemical and petrochemical products per year.
MRC