BASF posts Q3 loss in Germany

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF posted a EUR130m loss in its German domestic market during the third quarter (Q3), as economic conditions deteriorated quickly, on the back of high production costs for chemicals companies, said the company.

Martin Brudermuller added, however, that the overall increase in sales revenue in Q3 came thanks to the company’s ability to pass higher input costs onto customers through higher selling prices, as well as a weaker euro, benefiting the company in its non-euro sales.

He added BASF is waiting to hear details about the German government’s plan for a natural gas price brake and other potential state aid to energy-intensive companies to decide whether it will use it.

“At BASF we are creative and have always managed without state aid at times of crisis,” said Brudermuller, speaking to reporters from the company’s headquarters in Ludwigshafen.

BASF published its Q3 financial results, showing falls in earnings and net income.

The chemicals division managed to increase Q3 sales by 2.7%, but posted large falls in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) and earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT, or operating profit) of 50.7% and 63.2%, respectively, year on year.

BASF has released preliminary figures for the third quarter of 2022. Sales, income from operations (EBIT) before special items and EBIT are slightly above average analyst estimates. Net income of BASF Group is expected to amount to EUR909 million. This is considerably below the prior-year quarter figure (Q3 2021: EUR1,253 million) and the average analyst estimates for the third quarter of 2022 ( EUR1,105 million). Net income contains non-cash-effective impairments on the shareholding in Wintershall Dea in the amount of about EUR740 million. These result from the partial write-down of Wintershall Dea’s participation in Nord Stream AG, which operates the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

BASF is the world's largest chemical concern. The company's large portfolio of offers includes chemicals, plastics, special products, plant protection products, solutions for the agricultural sector, as well as oil and natural gas. The concern was founded on April 6, 1865. The headquarters is located in the city of Ludwigshafen, Germany.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- US-based auto paints and coatings producer Axalta Coating Systems reported a year-on-year decline in Q3 net income because costs rose faster than sales, said the company.

Revenue rose because of higher prices and volumes. Costs rose because of raw materials, logistics, energy and labour. Axalta also took hits from unfavourable exchange rates, the war between Russia and Ukraine and COVID-19 lockdowns in China.

The following breaks down the company's performance by segment. Figures are in millions of dollars.

Performance Coatings makes industrial coatings and refinish coatings for automobiles. Mobility Coatings makes coatings for light and commercial vehicles.

For the fourth quarter, net sales should rise 6-8%. Volumes should grow by the mid-single digits and price-mix growth should be in the high single-digits. Axalta expects a 7% hit from unfavourable exchange rates.

It expects to report USD120m-145m in adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT). That correlates to USD185m-210m in adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).

Inflation from raw materials should be in the high teens when compared with Q4 2021. Compared with the third quarter, Q4 inflation should be flat to down modestly.

We remind, Axalta, a leading global supplier of liquid and powder coatings, broke ground for construction of a state-of-the-art coatings facility in Jilin City, Jilin Province, North China. The 46,000-square-meter new plant will produce mobility coatings to support growing customer demand in China for light vehicles, commercial vehicles, and automotive plastic components. "Our new plant in Jilin is another building block supporting our ambitious growth strategy for our mobility business in China," said Nicolas Franc de Ferriere, Vice President, Mobility, Asia Pacific at Axalta.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Braskem has launched its new stretch film solution at K Fair. The launches of Braskem Flexus 3600 and PP RF70 are the result of the company’s efforts to develop new solutions in multi-layer stretch films, said Packagingeurope.

With what the company describes as superior processability and high yields during application, the solutions have advantages in terms of sustainability, since it reduces the amount of raw material needed for their production. In addition to productivity gains, the stretch film also reduces waste during transport, offering benefits in all links of the company’s value chain.

“The combination of different products distributed in layers results in higher puncture strength, lower propagation of tear and increased capacity to compact unitized cargo,” said Americo Bartilotti, head of Braskem’s Packaging & Consumer Goods Business. “We are improving safety during the transport, storage and distribution of cargo, while reducing product waste due to faults in the palletization process, and using less stretch film. This result in an excellent cost-benefit tradeoff,” he said.Partnership with SML.

We remind, Braskem, the market leader and a pioneer in the production of biopolymers, entered into an agreement for the acquisition of shares and the subscription of new shares in Wise Plasticos S.A., a company engaged in mechanical recycling. Braskem will acquire an equity interest of 61.1% in the share capital of Wise for an estimated amount of RD121 million, part of which will be used to expand its current production capacity by two-fold to around 50,000 tons/year of recycling by 2026.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sherwin-Williams topped sales and profit estimates for the third quarter, notching record revenue for the period, after hiking prices for paint and other products, said the company.

The manufacturer of coatings implemented a 10% price increase across the Americas on Sept. 6 after noting higher input costs and supply chain challenges. In the July announcement, the company also said that it was raising prices in two other operating groups, although the amount wasn’t disclosed.

On Tuesday, Sherwin-Williams (ticker: SHW) said adjusted profit for the third quarter was USD2.83 a share and sales hit a record USD6.05 billion. Analysts had expected earnings of USD2.56 a share on sales of USD5.79 billion.

Same-store sales — or sales across stores in the U.S. and Canada that had been open for more than 12 months — increased 20.7% in the third quarter as “we are seeing strong realization from our September ..increase,” CEO John Morikis said. The business continued to capture demand across all professional architectural markets, he added.

The stock rose 4% to USD221.20 during morning trading on Tuesday.

The company maintained its earnings outlook for the full year at USD8.50 to USD8.80 a share. In July, it cut its forecast from a range of USD9.25 to USD9.65 due to inflation and demand pressures in Europe, China, and North America. It saw weak trends among consumers using paints for do-it-yourself projects in the second quarter, though the professional segment was strong.

We remind, Sherwin-Williams Company has announced an agreement to acquire Industria Chimica Adriatica (ICA), an Italian designer, manufacturer and distributor of industrial wood coatings used for kitchen cabinets, furniture and decor, building products, flooring and other specialty applications.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- China’s Wanhua Chemical has achieved on-spec products from its new 40,000 tonne/year polyamide12/nylon12 (PA12/nylon12) facility, according to a company statement.

This indicates that Wanhua has fully mastered core technology of PA12 with whole industrial chain manufacturing capability and can produce qualified products consistently in large scale, it said.

Featuring low density, low-temperature stability, high-impact resistance and strong chemical resistance, PA12 provides diversified solutions for manufacturing industries, such as automobile, oil and gas, sports and cables.

The plant started operated on 18 October.

Wanhua Chemical also plans to increase the capacity of its polycarbonate (PC) plant in Yantai in Shandong province by 140,000 tons per year to 340,000 tons per year. The expansion will be carried out by reengineering the existing 200 ktpa PC production project at the site. The company is currently seeking environmental approval for the plan. The timing of the project is not disclosed.

Wanhua Chemical was founded on December 20, 1998, and is the first listed joint-stock enterprise after reorganization in Shandong Province, China. The company mainly produces diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), including pure MDI and polymerized MDI used in the production of polyurethane (PU).
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