Solvay Q1 net profit increased 53.7%

Solvay's net profit rose by 53.7% year on year in the first quarter, supported by higher chemicals sales, said the company.

Net Sales in the first quarter of 2022 were over €3 billion, a new quarterly record, up +26.1% organically versus Q1 2021, with double-digit sales growth in every business and all regions driven by successful price actions (+20% or EUR475 million) and volume growth (+6% or EUR157 million).

Structural cost savings of EUR22 million were achieved in Q1 2022, totaling EUR410 million since 2020, and on track to achieve our €500 million mid-term target ahead of plan.

Record underlying EBITDA in Q1 2022 of EUR712 million was +20% higher on an organic basis. All three segments delivered double-digit EBITDA growth driven by price and volumes. Price gains in the quarter more than offset €369 million of inflationary cost increases. Solutions was up +35%, with particular strength in Novecare, while Materials was up +21%, and Chemicals was up +15%.

The underlying EBITDA margin in Q1 2022 was 23.3%, similar to full year 2021 level as strong pricing actions offset inflation headwinds.

Underlying Net Profit was EUR369 million in Q1 2022, up +54% compared to Q1 2021.

"Full year underlying EBITDA is now estimated to grow by mid to high single-digits," the company said in a statement.

As per MRC, Solvay, a leading global supplier of specialty polymers, announces the production of the new generation solvent Rhodiasolv IRIS, with eco-friendly properties. Previously manufactured in China, this solvent will now be produced from 2023 onwards at Solvay's Melle site, France.

We also remind that in August, 2020, through the acquisition of the Solvay polyamide (PA) business, BASF enhanced its R&D capabilities in Asia Pacific with new technologies, technical expertise, and upgraded material and part testing services. BASF is planning to integrate the R&D centers from Solvay into its R&D existing facilities in Shanghai, China, and Seoul, Korea. The enhanced capabilities will boost BASF’s position as a solution provider to develop advanced material solutions for key industries.

Solvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. With more than 24,100 employees in 64 countries, Solvay bonds people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. The Group seeks to create sustainable shared value for all, notably through its Solvay One Planet plan crafted around three pillars: protecting the climate, preserving resources and fostering better life. The Group’s innovative solutions contribute to safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries, smart devices, health care applications, water and air purification systems. Founded in 1863, Solvay today ranks among the world’s top three companies for the vast majority of its activities.
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US-based specialty chemicals producer Eastman reported on Thursday a decline in Q1 net income because of an outage at its complex in Kingsport, Tennessee, said the company.

The outage caused a USD125m hit to the company. The outage took place on 31 January, when a steam-line failed. The primary area affected by the failure was specialty copolyesters in Eastman's Advanced Materials segment. It was operational as of 31 March.

The following shows the company's first-quarter financial performance. Figures are in millions of dollars. Eastman reaffirmed its 2022 guidance, which calls for adjusted earnings to be USD9.50-10.00/share. Operating cash flow should approach USD1.6bn.

Eastman's guidance assumes that GDP will grow by 3%, Brent crude-oil prices should be USD100-110/bbl and logistical constraints will persist.

As per MRC, Eastman has entered an exclusive negotiation with Port-Jerome-sur-Seine as the preferred location of the molecular recycling facility it plans to build in France. This is an important step toward a significant milestone in the company's plan to invest up to USD1 B and build the world's largest material-to-material molecular recycling plant in France - a facility that will recycle approximately 160,000 tpy of hard-to-recycle polyester waste.

We remind that Eastman is increasing capacity for its Naia-brand cellulosic filament yarn at its plant in Barcelona, Spain. Eastman is increasing its capacity to produce Naia cellulosic filament yarns at its plant Barcelona, by 30% by mid-2021, and by more than 50% by the end of 2022.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PET consumption remained steady in December 2021 year on year. December estimated PET consumption totalled 67,880 tonnes (67,710 tonnes in December 2020).

Eastman is a multinational chemical company serving customers in approximately 100 countries. Sales in 2015 amounted to around USD9.6 Billion. The company is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA. The company employs approximately 15 thousand people around the world.
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Swiss composite materials company Gurit has agreed to acquire a 60% share of Denmark’s Fiberline Composites to improve its offering for the wind power market, said the company.

Fiberline Composites makes pultruded carbon and glass fibre products used in the wind blade production. The company, with sales of Swfr104m (USDm) last year, operates production sites in Denmark and China and has about 300 employees. The Fiberline Composites operations will form a new Gurit business unit called Structural Profiles, enhancing Gurit’s product offering into wind energy with “a major and blade structurally relevant offering of pultruded carbon and glass products”, it said.

The pultrusion of carbon fibre is a rapidly growing technology that offers weight savings, compared with versus-infused glass solutions, and it enables stiffer and lighter wind blades, Gurit added. Gurit will pay Swfr58m for the stake and assume Swfr22m of Fiberline’s debt. The deal is expected to close by the end of May. Gurit has the right to purchase the remaining shares in the 2024/2025 time period.

Should it decide not to acquire the remaining 40% equity share, then Fiberline Composites' founding Thorning family has the right to sell the entire company in the market.

As per MRC, Gurit announced the sale of its Aerospace business to Isovolta Group, a manufacturer of composites based in Austria. The signing and closing of the transaction took place concurrently and will be effective April 13, 2022.

The subsidiaries of Gurit Holding AG, Wattwil/Switzerland, (SIX Swiss Exchange: GUR) are specialized on the development and manufacture of advanced composite materials, composite tooling equipment and core kitting services. The product range comprises structural core materials, fibre reinforced prepregs, formulated products such as adhesives, resins as well as structural composite engineering.
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Evonik Catalysts has opened a new zero liquid discharge (ZLD) plant at its facility in Dombivli, India, said the company.

The new plant reduces the amount of fresh water required for production processes and turns material that was previously considered waste into saleable products. ZLD purifies and recycles wastewater at the end of an industrial process, leaving little to no effluent remaining when it is completed. This means not only more efficient water use, but also a significant reduction in waste liquid.

“Environmental excellence has always been a top priority for Evonik in India, and the ZLD plant at our catalysts site is a centerpiece in Evonik’s efforts to minimize its production-associated ecological footprint,” said Sanjeev Taneja, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Catalysts business line, at the inauguration of the plant. “The efficient reuse of process water, and products extracted from it, is in line with our circular economy principles, and a key contribution to the sustainability targets of Evonik and our customers."

Evonik is developing site-specific action plans as part of its global water management system. One focus is on sites in regions that could be affected by water scarcity. It also strives for the most efficient use of water. The main ambition with the Dombivli ZLD plant is to improve the treatment of process water. It goes through a multi-stage process and then the byproducts go through further processing. An estimated 600 m3 of wastewater – the equivalent of between 25 and 30 tankers – enters the ZLD plant every day and the plant is expected to recirculate around 55 percent of that – approximately 300-350 m3 – for process reuse and the balance water for re-use as cooling tower make up thus reducing Evonik water use requirements and thereby reducing Evonik’s dependence on municipal water supplies.

The requirement for fresh water will be reduced by 65 percent after stable operation of zero liquid discharge and the company is targeting further reductions through process optimization. In addition, processing leads to the production of 15-20 metric tons of sodium sulphate and certain mixed salts which can be resold as a commercial product.

The ZLD plant is set-up on a ‘BOOT’ Model between Evonik and Remondis, with the latter responsible for building, owning, operating, maintaining and transferring the ZLD plant to Evonik.

As MRC reported earlier, in March, 2022, Evonik launched a new biosurfactant produced from renewable feedstocks.
The rhamnolipids are produced at Evonik’s plant in Slovenska Lupca, Slovakia following a triple-digit million-euro investment in the site, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023. The biosurfactant range is made using feedstocks which are locally sourced and fully biodegradable, meeting demand for low-emission, low-impact cleaning products in the market.

We remind that in February, 2020, Dow and Evonik entered into an exclusive technology partnership. Together, they plan to bring a unique method for directly synthesizing propylene glycol (PG) from propylene and hydrogen peroxide to market maturity.

Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The company is active in more than 100 countries around the world and generated sales of EUR12.2 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of EUR1.91 billion in 2020. Evonik goes far beyond chemistry to create innovative, profitable and sustainable solutions for customers. About 33,000 employees work together for a common purpose: to improve life today and tomorrow.
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Petron’s first-quarter net profit more than doubled year on year to pesos (Ps) 3.6bn (USD69m) on the back of strong crude prices, said the company.

Consolidated sales volumes for the March quarter grew 34% to 25.67m barrels on the back higher demand and easing of pandemic-related mobility restrictions, the company said in a statement. During the period, Dubai crude averaged USD95.6/bbl due to geopolitical tension and supply concerns triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“Petrochemical volumes rose by around 30% brought about by the increased demand for resin used for PPEs [personal protective equipment] and online deliveries,” it said. “Fueled by the demand growth and higher prices of petrochemicals, Petron resumed operations of its polypropylene plant in January 2022 after a two-year shutdown,” the company said.

Petron expects to complete construction of its new power plant this year. The 184-megawatt (BW) power plant which would “allow the company to more efficiently generate steam and power for the Petron Bataan Refinery”. Petron operates a 180,000 bbl/day refinery in Limay, Bataan. “This would make the country’s lone refinery not only capable of supplying 40% of the national fuel demand but also self-sufficient in terms of its power requirement,” the company said.

As per MRC, the closure of Petron Corp.’s refinery in Bataan is imminent if all industry players will not be accorded a level playing field.

We remind, Petron swung into a net loss in the first half of the year due to fuel demand destruction brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Petron Corp. incurred a consolidated net loss of P14.2 billion in the first half of 2020, reversing the P2.6 billion net income it posted in the same period a year ago.
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