Sika exceeds sales of CHF10 bn

Sika performed well against an increasingly difficult economic backdrop and – with CHF 10.49 billion in sales – the company exceeded the CHF 10 billion mark for the first time, said the company.

This corresponds to a substantial increase of 15.8% in local currencies compared to the previous year. The currency effect came to –2.4%, with the softening US dollar and the continued weak euro particularly impacting this development. The acquisition effect was 2.5%.

Rising raw material prices around the globe were a prominent feature of 2022, as was a deceleration in the construction sector in the second half of the year, which was mostly due to high inflation and associated interest rate hikes. Sika was able to raise prices for products and solutions accordingly, and also made use of targeted growth opportunities. Overall, the global construction sector is being shaped by several megatrends including climate change, automation, digitalization, as well as demand for easy-to-apply products. With its broad product portfolio, Sika is ideally positioned to offer its customers technologies that allow them to reduce their carbon footprint while facilitating long-lasting, resource-efficient construction. In addition, Sika is benefiting from global, state-driven economic support programs that are fueling infrastructure expansion.

The EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa) reported a sales increase in local currencies of 8.3% in 2022 (previous year: 16.1%). Sika’s distribution business, which includes product distribution via home improvement stores, builders’ merchants, and online platforms, saw a decline in volume. The extraordinarily high demand during the COVID-19 pandemic normalized again, moving back into line with pre-pandemic years. In contrast, volumes in the project business, which accounts for around 60% of sales in the region, witnessed only a slight drop. Economic stimulus programs and substantial investments in the transition of the energy sector support Sika’s business activities even in declining markets. The region’s strongest growth rates were recorded in the countries in Africa and the Middle East, which once again achieved double-digit sales growth.

Sika moved to a new site in the East African country of Tanzania in 2022, and is now manufacturing mortar products in Dar es Salaam on top of concrete admixtures. It also extended its facility in Western Africa’s Ivory Coast. This site is now double its previous size, enjoying not only additional manufacturing facilities but also new warehousing capacities, office space, and laboratories.

The Americas region recorded growth in local currencies of 27.5% (previous year: 21.0%). Sika generated a large part of this growth from projects in the US infrastructure segment, which saw siginifcantly higher activity in 2022 compared to the previous year. Construction work focused on the modernization and expansion of subway lines, bridges, tunnels, and freeways. High demand also stemmed from investments in commercial construction projects, including stadiums and data centers. In addition, the USA is investing heavily in reshoring, which involves bringing industrial know-how back to the United States from Asia and constructing new manufacturing plants. This opens up new business opportunities for Sika. Construction activity in large parts of the US was affected by the severe winter storms in December, which also disrupted the deliveries of some Sika products.

We remind, Sika is opening a new plant for liquid membranes and mortar production in Chongqing, a city in southwestern China with 30 million inhabitants. By commissioning the new plant, Sika is expanding its position in this rapidly growing metropolitan area, which is set to become even more important as China is creating the Chengdu-Chongqing business district with almost 100 million inhabitants.

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Chevron Corp's first cargo of Venezuelan crude after a U.S. license received in November has departed from a ship-to-ship transfer hub near Aruba to its Pascagoula, Mississippi refinery, according to shipping data seen by Reuters.

Chevron received authorization last year from the U.S. Treasury Department to revive oil output and expand operations in Venezuela as part of Washington's efforts to encourage political dialogue towards a presidential election in the South American nation.

State-run oil company PDVSA allocated Chevron the first crude cargo this month, which was loaded at Venezuela's Jose terminal last week, according to shipping data and documents.

Chevron's tanker Caribbean Voyager this week transferred the 500,000-barrel cargo of Hamaca heavy crude it had loaded in Venezuela to Malta-flagged vessel Sealeo at a ship-to-ship hub near the Caribbean island of Aruba, Refinitiv Eikon tanker monitoring data showed.

The Sealeo is scheduled to arrive in Chevron's Pascagoula refinery on Jan. 15, according to the Eikon data. A separate Venezuelan crude cargo chartered by Chevron on tanker Kerala was on Tuesday at Maracaibo Lake's navigation channel, where lack of dredging and a stranded vessel are creating limitations for ship transit.

Chevron confirmed shipping activities in Venezuela commenced this month and said the company is focused on "operating safely and reliably" after restarting operations at its affiliated joint ventures in December.

"We continue to conduct our business in compliance with all laws and regulations where we operate, as well as the sanctions framework provided by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control," it added in a release to Reuters.

We remind, Chevron Corp plans to export this month its first cargo of Venezuelan crude to its Pascagoula, Mississippi refinery following a U.S. license granted last year. The 500,000-barrel cargo of Hamaca heavy crude, to be loaded at state-run PDVSA's Jose port, comes from the Petropiar oil joint venture operated by both companies.

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China issued a second batch of 2023 crude oil import quotas, raising the total for this year by 20% compared to the same time last year, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

According to the document from the Ministry of Commerce, 44 companies, mostly independent refiners, were given 111.82 MMt in import quotas in this round.

Combined with the 20 MMt in 2023 quotas granted to 21 refineries in October, that takes the total for this year to 131.82 MMt, up from the 109.03 MMt issued in the first batch for 2022. The second batch of quotas for 2022 was released in June last year.

China, the world's biggest oil importer, allocated some 2023 quotas earlier than usual to shore up the sluggish economy by encouraging refiners to boost operations.

Zhejiang Petrochemical Corp (ZPC), which operates China's biggest privately-owned refinery site, was granted the largest quota of this batch at 20 MMt, on par with last year's issuance, according to the documents.

Hengli Petrochemical received a quota of 14 MMt and Shenghong Petrochemical's newly started 320,000 barrels-per-day refinery received 8 MMt. Hengli won a quota of 4.83 MMt in the first batch in October.

China's Commerce Ministry did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment. "The issuance is largely in line with market anticipation, and it suggests that Beijing is trying to boost economy by allowing refineries to ratchet up operation," a Singapore-based oil trader said.

Global oil futures benchmarks Brent and West Texas Intermediate both gained than $2 a barrel on Monday, on optimism for future fuel demand as China dropped its zero-COVID restrictions and began unfettered travel across its borders.

We remind, China has raised its first batch of 2023 export quotas for refined oil products by nearly half versus a year ago. The quotas could encourage refiners at the world's top crude importer to process more crude and keep fuel exports at record levels in the first half, mitigating the impact of possible cuts in Russian diesel exports when European Union sanctions take effect in February.

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Nasdaq First North-listed Nexam Chemical – which invents, develops, produces and sells additives to the plastics industry worldwide – has continued success with additives for PET recycling in South Korea, said Polymerupdate.

The order has a value of approximately SEK 2 million and will be delivered during February, March and April 2023. This builds further confidence in the Reactive Recycling product portfolio.

On two previous occasions during the autumn 2022, Nexam Chemical has informed about a new business relationship in South Korea. The new customer has gradually gone from a major industrial attempt to repair recycled plastic to now entering a more regular situation. This means that the customer places an order for a time interval, which is a sign that the project is entering a continuous commercial phase that usually lasts for a longer period, usually several years.

"That we go from lab samples to pilot scale and then to industrialization is exactly what we strive for in all projects. This time, however, it has gone much faster than usual, which is extra gratifying. The fact that it also concerns our growth oriented initiative in Reactive Recycling strengthens our confidence in the market," says Johan Arvidsson, CEO of Nexam Chemical.

As per MRC, Nexam Chemical has received an order from an existing customer in the area of PET additives for deliveries to the USA. The customer is a market-leading manufacturer of PET foam. It is the single largest order in the United States and also one of the largest ever for Nexam Chemical globally. Nexam Chemical has previously delivered products to this customer and this order confirms good growth in the business.

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PPG announced that Pedro Serret Salvat, general counsel, PPG EMEA, will become president and general counsel, PPG EMEA, effective immediately. Serret Salvat will continue to report to PPG senior vice president and general counsel, Anne Foulkes, said the company.

Serret Salvat succeeds Ram Vadlamannati, who will transition to lead a newly created PPG operations organization while maintaining executive oversight accountability of the EMEA region, as previously announced.

“Since joining PPG, Pedro has demonstrated skilled leadership and a deep understanding of PPG’s businesses across the region,” said Foulkes. “Pedro will drive a One PPG approach across our operations in EMEA to maximize profitable growth through alignment and synergies across the region.”

Serret Salvat joined PPG in 2011 as the regional head of legal affairs and was appointed as general counsel, EMEA in 2016. Prior to joining PPG, he worked as head of transactions for a Swiss-listed global company in Zurich and as legal director for a French-listed global company in Paris. Prior to his in-house practice, he also worked in private practice in Brussels in the fields of mergers and acquisitions, and antitrust law. Serret Salvat holds a degree in commercial law from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra and an LLM in European law from the University of Liege.

At PPG , we work every day to develop and deliver the paints, coatings and specialty materials that our customers have trusted for nearly 140 years. Through dedication and creativity, we solve our customers’ biggest challenges, collaborating closely to find the right path forward. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, we operate and innovate in more than 75 countries and reported net sales of $16.8 billion in 2021. We serve customers in construction, consumer products, industrial, and transportation markets and aftermarkets.

We remind, PPG will invest USD11 million to double the production capacity of its powder coatings plant in San Juan del Rio, Mexico. The expansion project is expected to be completed by mid-2023 and will allow the plant to meet the expected future demand for powder coatings in Mexico.

PPG is a leading supplier of powder coatings to the automotive, transportation, appliance, furniture and other markets. The company expanded the business with its 2020 acquisition of Alpha Coating Technologies, which manufactures powder coatings for light industrial applications and heat-sensitive substrates, and its 2021 acquisition of Worwag, which makes liquid, powder and film coatings for industrial and automotive applications. PPG recently agreed to acquire the powder coatings business of Arsonsisi, including a manufacturing plant in Verbania, Italy.
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