Eni profit soars to record EUR13.81 bn in 2022

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Italian oil supermajor Eni S.p.A. reported its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings results, revealing its net profit annually tumbled 84% to EUR550 million, or diluted earnings per share of EUR0.97, said the company.

The company's adjusted operating profit remained mostly unchanged in the same period at EUR3.8 billion. In 2022, both Eni's net and operating profit more than doubled versus a year earlier to reach record EUR13.81 billion and EUR20.39 billion, respectively.

"Our strategic objectives are unchanged: we will invest to ensure stable and affordable supplies to meet energy market demand and decarbonize our operations and clients, while maintaining financial discipline to ensure attractive returns for our shareholders," CEO Claudio Descalzi noted. Commenting on the outlook, Eni said it will unveil its 2023 financial targets during its capital markets day.

We remind, PDVSA has allocated an oil cargo to a unit of Eni for a February loading, the first to the Italian firm following a contract suspension this year by new management at the state-run company, people familiar with the matter said. Eni and Spanish oil firm Repsol in May last year received authorizations from the U.S. State Department to take the crude to Europe for outstanding Venezuela debt and dividends, an exception to U.S. oil sanctions on Venezuela.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- US-based acetyl and engineered materials producer Celanese reported Q4 earnings that fell below the company's earlier guidance, said the company.

The following shows the company's Q4 financial performance. Figures are in millions of dollars except for adjusted earnings/share, which are listed in dollars. Net income rose because of an $840m tax benefit that Celanese reported in the fourth quarter. That compares with a tax charge of USD27m that Celanese reported in Q4 2021.

CEO Lori Ryerkerk said Q4 results fell slightly below the company's expectations and below its adjusted earnings/share guidance range. In November, Celanese expected to report adjusted earnings/share of USD1.50-2.00. The company's shares fell by 3.60% in after-hours trading.

We remind, Celanese Corporation, a global specialty materials and chemical company, announced the completion of an ultra-low capital project to repurpose existing manufacturing and infrastructure assets to unlock additional ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) capacity at its Edmonton, Alberta facility. The expansion supports significant growth in the Acetyl Chain’s downstream vinyls portfolio.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Belgian chemicals group Solvay SOLB.BR reported record profits for 2022, beating a company-provided consensus after a stronger-than-expected fourth quarter mainly driven by higher selling prices, said the company.

The company, which makes lithium derivatives for batteries, said higher prices had offset weaker volumes and it would continue to maintain pricing power where possible, but warned it expects earnings to fall this year.

For 2023, Solvay said it sees its underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) declining by 3% to 9% from 2022 due to "softer volumes in key markets", including in chemicals, coatings and consumer markets.

Solvay Chief Executive Officer Ilham Kadri told Reuters plans to split the business into two public companies remain on track for completion in December 2023.

Fourth-quarter net turnover rose 21.6% year-on-year to 3.29 billion euros, driven mainly by higher selling prices across the business but also by sustained demand for soda ash and growth in civil aerospace and coating markets, the company said.

Its annual underlying EBITDA reached a new record in 2022, at 3.29 billion euros (USD3.49 billion), beating a company-provided consensus of 3.25 billion euros.

Quarterly EBITDA came in at 736 million euros, up 28.6% from a year earlier and also above a consensus of 703 million euros. The Brussels-based company raised its dividend by 0.20 euro to 4.05 euro per share, subject to shareholder approval.

We remind, Solvay in advanced negotiations to divest its stake in Rusvinyl. The company confirms it is in advanced negotiations to divest its stake in Rusvinyl, an independent 50/50 joint venture in Russia, to its joint venture partner, Sibur. In addition to the recently obtained preliminary clearance from Russian governmental authorities, the potential transaction is still subject to several other regulatory approvals. Solvay will keep the market informed if and when appropriate, in accordance with applicable law.

Solvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. With more than 21,000 employees in 63 countries, Solvay bonds people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asian Paints entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat government to set up a manufacturing facility in Dahej. The MoU was signed through its newly incorporated wholly-owned subsidiary, Asian Paints (Polymers), said the company.

Asian Paints subsidiary will set up the manufacturing facility for Vinyl Acetate Ethylene Emulsion (VAE) and Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM) at Dahej, Gujarat.

In its regulatory filing, Asian Paints said, "the company will make necessary disclosures on any material developments in this regard from time to time." Last month, Asian Paints incorporated Asian Paints (Polymers) with a share capital of ?100 crore.

Last year, the company's board of directors approved the setting up of a manufacturing facility for VAE and VAM in India. For this, Asian Paints announced in October that it will invest ?2,100 crore over a period of three years.

The installed capacity of the said manufacturing facility would be 100,000 tons per annum for VAM and 150,000 tons per annum for VAE. VAM is a key input for manufacturing VAE.

In its regulatory filing on October 20, 2022, Asian Paints revealed that VAE is considered to be the emulsion of the future, and the key constituent for manufacturing environment friendly paints. VAE offers better paint properties and can significantly improve paint performance in customer-facing attributes.

Currently, Asian Paints already imports VAE & VAM for its internal consumption. This would be a key backward integration project for the company.

To manufacture VAM, the company has also entered into a technology and other allied agreements with KBR.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS Energy is entering US oil and gas production for the first time with the acquisition of a portion of Chesapeake Energy’s oil and gas assets in the Eagle Ford shale, south Texas for USD1.4 bn, said the company.

The deal marks INEOS Energy’s entry as operator into the US onshore oil and gas market, as it acquires 2,300 wells, producing net 36,000 BOED. The acquisition, which includes production and exploration leases across 172,000 net acres, is expected to complete in Q2, with an effective date of October 2022.

The addition of Chesapeake's assets and operations in south Texas is part of INEOS Energy’s strategy to build a global integrated portfolio, fit for the energy transition, offering high-quality, energy solutions to its customers.

Brian Gilvary Chairman INEOS Energy said, "The deal marks our entry into the US market and is another significant step in the INEOS Energy journey. Over the last two decades, US onshore oil and gas production has provided security of supply for the global market and competitive advantage for US industry. We believe this acquisition will help us to serve our internal and external customers today as we continue to position our business to meet the energy transition."

INEOS Energy incorporates all of the existing INEOS Oil & Gas assets. The business is committed to meeting society's energy needs through the current energy transition. INEOS Energy is actively producing and trading oil, gas, power and carbon credits, as well as investing in LNG, Hydrogen, and Carbon Capture and Storage.

We remind, INEOS has secured EUR3.5bn in financing for its Antwerp, Belgium, cracker project, set to have the lowest CO2 output of any unit in the continent. The plant, expected onstream in 2026, has the capacity to operate entirely on low-carbon hydrogen, with scope for the addition of a carbon capture facility and electric furnaces in future, according to INEOS. The estimated budget for the project, which INEOS made a final investment decision (FID) on last year, currently stands at EUR4.0bn

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