COVID-19 - News digest as of 24.05.2021

1. Henkel hikes outlook as demand for adhesives rebounds

MOSCOW (MRC) -- German consumer goods group Henkel raised its full-year outlook after its adhesives business reported a strong first-quarter amid a faster-than-expected rebound in the automotive and electronics industries, said Reuters. Henkel said it now expects 2021 sales to rise an organic 4-6%, up from a previous 2-5% forecast, while earnings per preferred share should rise in the high single-digit to mid-teens percentage range, from a previous 5-15% range. The upper end of the earnings guidance is not limited to 15%, finance chief Marco Swoboda told analysts, adding that Henkel was seeing continued strong progress in adhesives. Henkel, which makes Schwarzkopf hair care products, said it expects the hair salon business will recover significantly as coronavirus lockdowns ease, while demand for cleaning products, which was boosted by the pandemic, should return to normal.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's overall production of high density polyethylene (HDPE) totalled 653,500 tonnes in the first four months of 2021, up by 9% year on year. At the same time, only one Russian producer increased its HDPE output, according to MRC's ScanPlast report.

April total HDPE production in Russia fell to 147,700 tonnes, whereas this figure was 175,900 tonnes a month earlier, three out of four producers reduced their capacity utilisation. Thus, overall HDPE output in the country reached 653,500 tonnes in January-April 2021, compared to 602,000 tonnes a year earlier. Only ZapSibNeftekhim's production increased, whereas Kazanorgsintez and Gazprom neftekhim Salavat reduced their output.

The structure of polyethylene (PE) production by plants looked the following way over the stated period.

ZapSibNeftekhim's April total HDPE production reached 81,600 tonnes versus 97,200 tonnes a month earlier. The Tobolsk plant's overall HDPE production reached 371,700 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 35% year on year.

Last month's HDPE production at Kazanorgsintez decreased to 29,000 tonnes from 41,000 tonnes in March, the reduction in the output was done in favour of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), as well as because of a shortage of ethylene. Thus, the plant's overall production of this PE grade totalled 136,300 tonnes over the stated period, down by 23% year on year.

Stavrolen produced 26,900 tonnes of HDPE in April versus 27,600 tonnes 27,600 tonnes a month earlier. The plant's overall output of material exceeded 108,000 tonnes over the stated period, which virtually corresponded to the last year's figure.

Gazprom neftekhim Salavat's total HDPE production exceeded 10,200 tonnes last month, which corresponded to the March level. Thus, overall production of this PE grade totalled 37,500 tonnes at the Salavat plant in January-April 2021, down by 9% year on year.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Henkel plans to invest more than €60m to build a new adhesive technologies centre in Shanghai, said the company.

Henkel today announced the construction of a new Adhesive Technologies Innovation Center in Shanghai. With an investment of more than EUR60 mln (RMB 500 million), the state-of-the-art facility will transform Henkel’s current Zhangjiang site into an Innovation Center for China and Asia-Pacific. The new site will also strengthen the position of Henkel Adhesive Technologies to serve a variety of industries and develop leading adhesives, sealants and functional coatings solutions for customers in the region.

"Our investment aligns with the direction of the Chinese government’s 14th Five-Year plan,” said Rajat Agarwal, president of Henkel Greater China. "In particular, it will further strengthen our innovative capabilities in China to support the country’s economic upgrading,” Agarwal said.

Targeted for completion in 2023, the state-of-the-art Innovation Center has a gross space of 32,000 square meters, including approximately 9,000 square meters of laboratories and 4,000 square meters of office space. Once operational, it will allow more than 400 Henkel experts and scientists to develop new technologies that support all Henkel Adhesive Technologies business and service areas.

As MRC informed earlier, Henkel has provided a business update for the third quarter and says that, based on preliminary figures, its adhesive technologies business unit achieved positive organic sales growth of 1.3% in the quarter. All business areas in adhesive technologies showed a recovery in demand compared with the second quarter, the company says. Henkel notes that in the first nine months of 2020, adhesive technologies recorded a 6.8% decline in organic sales.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asian Paints Ltd. has announced growth in net profit for its fourth quarter and full-year ended 31 March 2020-21, according to Kemicalinfo.

The company’s net profit grew 84.5% to Rs 852.13 crore (USD115.8 million) in fourth quarter 2020-21 compared to prior year quarter’s Rs 461.89 crore (USD62.7 million). Revenue from operations grew 43.4% to Rs 6726.84 crore (USD913.8 million) in the quarter compared with Rs 4691.39 crore (USD637.3 million) in the prior year quarter.

For the year ending March 31, 2021, Paushak’s net profit increased 16.1% to Rs 3139.29 crore (426.5 million) as compared with Rs 2705.17 crore (USD367.5 million) the prior year. Full-year revenue from operations in 2020-21 saw 7.3% growth at Rs 22,015.84 crore (USD2.99 billion) as against Rs 20,515.56 crore (USD2.78 billion) in 2019-20.

“We have seen a very strong quarter aided by good demand across rural and urban areas at the country level. On the heels of a healthy Q2 and Q3 recovery, this quarter saw exceptional growth across businesses and consumer segments. This quarter the performance has been outstanding, discounting even the slightly lower base last year same quarter” said Amit Syngle, Managing Director & CEO, Asian Paints Limited.

“The domestic Decorative business delivered a stellar performance registering a 48% volume growth in the quarter, led by a robust growth in the premium and luxury product range. The Home Improvement business also grew in a big way, registering record sales for the quarter aided by the foray into the Home Decor business.

The Industrial coatings business delivered a robust performance, particularly in Protective coatings and Refinish segments supported by the uptick in the industrial activity. The International business continued to record an exceptional double-digit volume growth, led by good growth in Asia and Middle East,” he added.

As MRC reported previously, in early May, 2020, Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) announced that it was considering selling its stake in India’s largest paint maker valued at about USD989 million as the conglomerate steps up efforts to trim its debt. RIL was in discussions with banks for a potential sale of its 4.9% stake in Asian Paints Ltd. through a series of block trades. Reliance holds the stake through Teesta Retail. The size and timing of any potential sale haven’t been finalized, and Reliance could decide not to proceed with a deal, the people said then. The sale of stake in Asian Paints is part of RIL’s string of fundraising plans unveiled in order to bolster investor confidence, even as the crash in oil prices pulled down profit at the company’s oil-to-chemicals business.

We remind that in November 2019, Reliance Industries confirmed plans to invest 700 billion Indian rupees (USD9.75 billion) to establish a crude-oil-to-chemicals (COTC) complex at the company's Jamnagar, India.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asia's cash differentials for jet fuel flipped into premiums for the first time this year in early May, partly supported by firmer deals in the physical market, while prompt-month spread for the aviation fuel stood at its narrowest contango in more than two months, reported Reuters.

The jet fuel market in Asia is getting support from recovering aviation demand in key markets including China and Australia, but any further upside would be capped in the near term due to COVID-19 lockdowns in India, trade sources said.

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi called for a nationwide lockdown as the country's tally of coronavirus infections surged past 20 million. India's scheduled flight seat capacity dropped 6.5% in early May, according to aviation data firm OAG.

As MRC informed before, slumping fuel consumption during the pandemic is accelerating the long-term shift of refining capacity from North America and Europe to Asia, and from older, smaller refineries to modern, higher-capacity mega-refineries. The result is a wave of closures, often centering on refineries that only narrowly survived the previous closure wave in the years after the recession in 2008/09.

We remind that PetroChina has nearly doubled the amount of Russian crude being processed at its refinery in Dalian, the company's biggest, since January 2018, as a new supply agreement had come into effect. The Dalian Petrochemical Corp, located in the northeast port city of Dalian, was expected to process 13 million tonnes, or 260,000 bpd of Russian pipeline crude in 2018, up by about 85 to 90 percent from the previous year's level. Dalian has the capacity to process about 410,000 bpd of crude. The increase follows an agreement worked out between the Russian and Chinese governments under which Russia's top oil producer Rosneft was to supply 30 million tonnes of ESPO Blend crude to PetroChina in 2018, or about 600,000 bpd. That would have represented an increase of 50 percent over 2017 volumes.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC