Celanese to divest Micromax electronic inks and pastes

Celanese Corp. (Dallas, Texas) plans to divest its Micromax electronic inks and pastes business, the company said on May 5. Celanese expects the business to generate over $300 million in revenue this year, as per Chemweek.

“Our primary focus continues to be aggressively and prudently deleveraging our balance sheet, and this strategy includes regularly reviewing our assets,” said Scott Richardson, Celanese’s president and CEO.

Celanese is pursuing multiple divestiture opportunities targeting a total of about $1.0 billion over the next 2.5 years, according to Chuck Kyrish, senior vice president and CFO.

Celanese, which released its first quarter results on May 5, is holding its earnings call on May 6.

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Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. (CPChem; The Woodlands, Texas) has sold its affiliate Chevron Phillips Singapore Chemicals (CPSC) to Aster Chemicals and Energy Pte. Ltd. (Singapore) through its affiliate PT Chandra Asri Pacific Tbk (Jakarta), as per Chemweek.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal is subject to customary closing conditions. Aster is a joint venture company between Chandra Asri and Glencore PLC (Baar, Switzerland).

CPSC operates a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) manufacturing facility on Jurong Island with an annual production capacity of 400,000 metric tons per year. CPSC is a JV between CPChem, EDB Investments Pte. Ltd. and Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.

CPChem said its Asia headquarters, responsible for the sales and marketing of products throughout the region, will remain in Singapore.

Aster has a fully integrated refinery capacity of 237,000 b/d alongside a 1.1 million metric ton ethylene cracker on Bukom Island and downstream chemical assets on Jurong Island.

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Avient Corporation reported a first-quarter net loss of $20.2 million, compared with net income of $49.4 million in the year-ago quarter, on net sales down 0.2% year over year, to $826.6 million, as per Chemweek.

The loss was due mainly to an impairment charge related to the cancelled implementation of a software system. Excluding this, adjusted earnings totaled 76 cents/share, up 4% and matching analysts’ consensus estimate, as reported by S&P Capital IQ.

The company reaffirmed its full-year and second-quarter adjusted earnings guidance, of $2.70/share-$2.94/share and 79 cents/share, respectively. “Looking ahead to the second quarter, we expect continued volatility in demand as consumers and businesses assess the changing economic landscape,” said Avient senior vice president and CFO Jamie Beggs. “While we anticipate weakness in consumer and transportation end markets, we see opportunities for growth in our largest end market, packaging.”

For the full-year, the outlook “is less certain and highly dependent on global economic growth, which is currently hard to predict,” Beggs added. Current performance is in-line with Avient’s expectations, she added.

”The evolving trade policy has led to uncertainty impacting demand in certain markets and geographies, particularly in the US,” noted Avient president and CEO Ashish Khandpur.

Colors, additives and inks segment sales increased 0.9% year over year, to $519.7 million, while segment operating income was up 5.1%, to $78.6 million. Specialty engineered materials segment sales were down 1.9%, to $308.4 million, while segment operating income declined 11.8%, to $47.1 million.

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The Mosaic Company (Tampa, FL) reported first quarter net income of $238 million, 428.9% higher year over year, as per Chemweek.

The 2025 quarter includes positive after-tax impact of notable items totaling $82 million, partially offset by the mark-to-market unrealized loss on the value of Ma’aden shares in the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter of 2025 was $544 million, down from $576 million in the first quarter of 2024, primarily driven by lower potash prices and phosphate sales volumes, partially offset by higher phosphate stripping margins and lower production unit costs in Mosaic Fertilizantes.

Adjusted earnings per share of $0.49 was 24.6% lower year over year but beat the analysts’ consensus estimate by 8.9%, as reported by S&P Capital IQ. Net sales declined 3.7% year over year, to $2.7 billion.

The company expects sales volumes to be about 30% higher in the second quarter, which is typically seasonally stronger than the first. Normalizing distribution margin, elevated stripping margin, and cost reduction initiatives are expected to “significantly” increase second quarter EBITDA. With expanding market access in Brazil, Mosaic expects Mosaic Fertilizantes sales volumes to grow approximately 15%. Mosaic also raised its 2025 potash production volume outlook.

Potash operating earnings declined 20% year over year, to $157 million. The Potash segment reported net sales of $570 million in the first quarter of 2025, down from $643 million in the same quarter of the prior year, driven primarily by lower selling prices which continued to recover from low levels in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Phosphate operating earnings increased 347%, to $139 million. Net sales in the Phosphate segment decreased slightly to $1.1 billion in the first quarter of 2025, from $1.2 billion in the first quarter of 2024, as lower sales volumes were nearly offset by higher prices.

Mosaic Fertilizantes operating earnings grew 133% year over year, to $98 million. The segment reported net sales of $934 million in the first quarter of 2025, up from $886 million in the first quarter of 2024, reflecting higher sales volumes.

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This week, ABS spot prices drifted lower, while contract prices were left unchanged in the European region.An industry source in Europe informed a Polymerupdate team member, "The European ABS market is experiencing diminished demand due to supply issues and regulatory pressures, as per Chemweek.

Demand conditions for acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) have further declined, coinciding with supply concerns that arose following China's export ban on antimony trioxide, a key additive for enhancing ABS's flame retardant properties. This ban poses a significant challenge, as alternative flame retardant materials are considerably more costly, thereby adversely affecting production expenses. Additionally, market participants have raised concerns regarding the availability of feedstock. Reports indicate a tight supply of butadiene, while styrene availability has been constrained due to decreased production rates at various European facilities. The source added, "

Despite the pressures on supply, the availability of ABS in the spot market has remained largely stable, primarily due to consistently low demand. This lack of purchasing activity has also impacted imports, which experienced minimal interest throughout April. Additionally, the ongoing anti-dumping investigation concerning ABS imports from South Korea and Taiwan introduces further uncertainty to the market. A resolution is anticipated in the upcoming months, as noted by one producer, which may alter the regional supply dynamics.

Demand in April was subdued, partly due to public holidays in Europe. Nevertheless, market sentiment for the second quarter is cautiously optimistic, as seasonal demand from the construction sector (a significant end-use market for ABS_ is projected to increase with the improvement of weather conditions.

In the spot markets, FD Northwest Europe general purpose and natural grade ABS prices were assessed at the Euro 1755-1765/mt levels, a decline of Euro (-30/mt) week on week.In the contract markets, general purpose and natural grade ABS prices were assessed at the Euro 1950-1955/mt FD NWE Germany and FD NWE Italy levels, both steady from last week. ABS prices were assessed at the Euro 1950-1955/mt FD NWE France levels, stable from the previous week. Meanwhile, ABS prices were assessed at the GBP 1655-1660/mt FD NWE UK levels, a fall of GBP (-15/mt) from last week.

Upstream SM spot prices on Thursday were assessed at the USD 1370-1380/mt FOB Rotterdam levels, a sharp rise of USD (+40/mt) from last week.Butadiene spot prices were assessed at the USD 960-965/mt FOB Rotterdam levels, sharply lower by USD (-55/mt) from the previous week. Meanwhile, ACN prices were assessed at the USD 1485-1495/mt CIF MED levels, a week on week drop of USD (-10/mt).European styrene contract price for April 2025 has been settled at the Euro 1496/mt CIF North West Europe. This price represents a sharp fall of Euro (-58/mt) from its March 2025 settlement levels.European butadiene contract price for May 2025 settled at the Euro 970/MT FD North West Europe levels. This price represents a plunge of Euro (-60/mt) from its April 2025 settlement levels.

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