German chemicals distributor Brenntag Q3 earnings beats expectations

German chemicals distributor Brenntag posted higher-than-expected third-quarter profit on Wednesday, saying it was able to balance European and global supply chains as rising energy costs affected the continent, said Reuters.

The group, whose services include storing large-scale quantities of chemicals and repackaging them into smaller quantities, said quarterly operating earnings before interests, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 34% to 460 million euros (USD463 million), compared with analysts’ average estimate of 453 million euros in a company-provided poll.

The company continues to expect reaching the upper range of its 2022 guidance of 1.75 billion to 1.85 billion euros in operating EBITDA.

We remind, Brenntag has acquired the life sciences and coatings business from a fellow distributor in the Australia and New Zealand region. The acquisition from Ravenswood, a specialties distributor with an expertise in blending, is expected to close on 2 December.

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BASF Stationary Energy Storage GmbH (BSES) and South Korea’s G-Philos have signed a sales and marketing agreement for NAS batteries (sodium-sulphur stationary batteries) for power-to-gas (P2G) projects, power grid and microgrid applications, the companies jointly announced.

The companies will work together to develop and market energy storage systems based on NAS batteries from BASF and power conversion systems (PCS) from G-Philos. G-Philos will also purchase NAS batteries from BSES with a total capacity of 12 MWh.

BASF and G-Philos started partnership in 2020 when an NAS battery system and a PCS developed by G-Philos were deployed in a demonstration P2G project implemented in South Korea.

The two companies decided to expand cooperation following successful operation of that project.

Based on their agreements, BASF and G-Philos plan to strengthen their commitment to the market for long-duration energy storage and climate-friendly hydrogen in South Korea and the Asia region. G-Philos also intends to offer preconfigured package solutions consisting of a combination of NAS batteries with its power converters through its own distribution network.

We remind, 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. 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.
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India’s Petronet LNG plans to set up a greenfield petrochemical complex consisting of a 750,000 tonnes/year propane dehydrogenation unit (PDH), a 500,000 tonnes/year polypropylene line (PP) and other facilities for the import, storage and transfer of ethane and propane at Dahej, in western Gujarat state, said the company.

The project is estimated to cost around Indian Rupees (Rs) 142bn (USD1.74bn), Petronet said in its submission to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. The petrochemical project is expected to become operational three years after the company receives all the necessary regulatory and other approvals, it added.

The complex will help Petronet meet the expected growth in demand for petrochemical products in India while also providing import substitution, it said in its submission.

The company plans to use imported propane as raw material for its PDH unit which will then provide the propylene feedstock for the proposed PP line, it added.

“The petrochemical complex will accelerate the development of downstream petrochemicals industry for polymer processing like packaging, fibre and filament, automotive, health care and personal care,” it added.

We remind, Petronet LNG and ONGC Videsh are jointly in talks about buying a stake in Tellurian Inc's proposed Driftwood project in Louisiana.

Petronet is a state-owned firm which develops facilities for the import, storage and regasification of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at Dahej and Kochi in southern Kerala state.
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DuPont de Nemours topped Wall Street expectations for third-quarter profit as increased pricing and strong demand for its electronics and other industrial products helped the company beat mounting costs, sending its shares up nearly 6%, said Reuters.

The industrial materials maker also announced a new USD5 billion share repurchase program and said it would retire USD2.5 billion in long-term debt.

Double digit revenue jump in select segments, including water and auto adhesives, as well as an 8% hike in pricing helped offset the inflationary headwinds, DuPont Chief Executive Officer Ed Breen said on a post-earnings call.

The company has been grappling with rising costs for raw materials and energy due to decades-high inflation that was prompted by the pandemic and now intensified by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

It expects cost to rise to about USD800 million in the year from its previous estimate of USD700 million, mainly due to higher energy prices in Europe.

But the cost pressures would subside heading into 2023, as raw material prices have started to normalize, the company said.

Sales from the electronics and industrial unit, one of the company's highest revenue generating segments, rose 2.9% to USD1.51 billion in the reported quarter, while the water and protection segment raked in USD1.53 billion, up nearly 10% from a year earlier.

DuPont's revenue rose to USD3.3 billion in the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with analysts' average estimate of USD3.2 billion.

We remind, DuPont has terminated its USD5.2bn deal from November 2021 to acquire Rogers Corp as the companies have been unable to obtain timely clearance from all the required regulators. DuPont is paying Rogers a termination fee of USD162.5m, it said in a brief statement late on Tuesday. The companies had not been able to obtain approval from regulators in China, officials said previously.
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Prospects for fourth-quarter earnings at South Korea’s petrochemical companies remain bleak despite their efforts to cut production rates and diversify portfolio to beat industrial downturn, said Pulsenews.

Spread on ethylene prices averaged at USD180 per ton in the third quarter, about 35 percent lower than USD278 in the first quarter, according to the petrochemical industry. This is a 46 percent decline from USD335 in the third quarter of last year. The spread is the price of ethylene minus naphtha, and usually USD300 is considered the break-even point.

Ethylene spread has been falling as naphtha prices remained high amid rising global crude prices. In contrast, demand for petrochemical product has weakened due to slowing global economy and higher raw material costs.

Petrochemical companies are faced with the worst conditions as demand deteriorates amid slowing global economy, according to an analyst at Heungkuk Securities Co.

Kumho Petrochemical Co. reported sales of 1.89 trillion won (USD1.4 billion) in the third quarter and operating profit of 230.5 billion won, off 15.6 percent and 63.1 percent, respectively, from a year ago. By sector, synthetic rubber operations post an operating profit of 84 billion won, 62.2 percent lower than a year ago. It reported an operating loss of 6.2 billion won due to a decline in demand for home appliances.

Lotte Chemical Corp. also posted an operating loss in the third quarter. Losses could continue in the fourth quarter as more products will be processed using crude that was purchased at higher prices, a Heungkuk Securities analyst said.

Korea Petrochemical Ind. Co. reported an operating loss of 60.1 billion won in the third quarter with sales down 25.46 percent.

LG Chem Ltd. And Hanwha Solutions Corp. managed to weather the slump with their electric vehicle battery and solar power businesses.

LG Chem’s third-quarter operating profit rose 23.9 percent from a year ago to 901.2 billion won and sales was 33.8 percent higher at 14.18 trillion won. Hanwha Solutions posted sale of 3.37 trillion won and an operating profit of 348.4 billion won in the third quarter, up 30.4 percent and 95.3 percent than a year ago, respectively.

Green businesses helped to offset some of the deterioration in their mainstay petrochemical operation.

Petrochemical companies, such as LG Chem and Korea Petrochemical, are using this down period to carry out maintenances of their facilities to adjust output until market conditions recover.

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