PTT Global Chemical’s first-quarter net profit declined by 57% year on year as chemical margins fell following spikes in feedstock costs, said the company.
First-quarter revenues were up 72% year on year, on a combination of a crude-led increase in petrochemical prices and demand recovery as more countries continued to ease their COVID-19 restrictions. Sales volume during the period increased “mainly from the volume realized after the completion of the Allnex acquisition” in the fourth quarter of last year, PTTGC said.
PTTGC completed the €4bn acquisition of Germany-based specialty chemicals maker Allnex at the end of December 2021. Strong petrochemical prices in the first quarter were also driven by some tightening of supply due to turnarounds and a “slowdown in production of some producers in the region”. For olefins, the adjusted EBITDA margins for the first quarter declined to 11% from 26% in the same period last year.
Olefins and derivatives’ adjusted EBITDA declined 38% year on year to Thai baht (Bt) 4.83bn (USD140m), while aromatics incurred a loss of Bt1.11bn. For the performance materials and chemicals business, first-quarter adjusted EBITDA grew 54% over the period to Bt6.34bn, largely due to the Allnex acquisition; while green chemicals’ earnings more than doubled to Bt730m.
PTTGC booked a loss of Bt8.57bn from commodity hedging, consisting of a realized loss of Bt2.57bn and an unrealized loss of about Bt6bn, the company said in the notes accompanying its Q1 financial results.
As per MRC, Aramco is exploring further collaboration with Thailand’s national oil company PTT, as it expands its downstream presence in Asia. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding at a ceremony in Bangkok on May 11. The companies aim to strengthen cooperation across crude oil sourcing and the marketing of refining and petrochemical products and LNG. Other potential areas of activity include blue and green hydrogen and various clean energy initiatives.
As per MRC, Thai PTTGC is planning a capital investment of USD608 million over five years, including two start-ups this year. PTTGC's joint venture with Austrian packaging and recycling company ALPLA, called ENVICCO Ltd, is expected to produce recycled polymers at Map Ta Phut in Rayong Province. The ENVICCO plant, which can produce 30,000 tons per year of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (R-PET) and 15,000 tons per year of recycled low-density polyethylene (R-HDPE), is expected to enter commercial operation in the first quarter of 2022.
PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) was founded on October 19, 2011 after the merger of PTT Chemical Company and PTT Aromatics and Refining Company to become the flagship of the PTT chemical group. As a result of the integration, the company's total capacity for the production of olefins and aromatics reached 8.2 million tons per year, and oil products - 280 thousand barrels per day, which makes it the largest integrated petrochemical and oil refining company not only in Thailand, but also in Asia.
mrchub.com