Lanxess expects mixed recovery during 2010

March 19 (prw) -- Specialty chemicals group Lanxess is confident that 2010 will be a good year following on from a strong final quarter in 2009. However, company chief executive Axel Heitmann said recovery will be "gradual" and vary from region to region.

⌠We expect a significant year-on-year improvement in earnings, even if there is currently no sign of a self-sustaining upswing, he said. ⌠Our results in the crisis year show that we passed the stress test.

The company was hit hard by the global downturn in 2009. Group sales fell by 23.1% year-on-year to ┬5,057m due to weak global demand. EBITDA pre exceptionals, at ┬465m, came in at the upper end of the company's target. Lanxess reported net income of ┬40m.

Looking ahead to 2010, the company expects to see the most significant improvement in Asia, with strong demand from China and India, particularly for rubber. Latin America, especially Brazil, should also improve. But there is "persistent uncertainty" regarding the future economic trend in North America and Europe, it said.

MRC

March 18 (straitstimes.com) -- Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell will officially open its highly anticipated multibillion-dollar petrochemical complex in Pulau Bukom on May 4 - a project almost five years in the making.

Chief executive Peter Voser told The Straits Times that the timing of the opening of the complex - estimated to have cost US$3 billion (S$4.2 billion) - was ideal, given the recent recovery of global markets.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will be the guest of honour, he said.

Mr Voser shrugged off concerns of a supply overhang with new petrochemical complexes also firing up in Thailand, China and the Middle East.

He said he was confident the market would be able to absorb the plant's output of various widely used chemicals as demand for such products is picking up.

One key competitive advantage of the new Shell Eastern Petrochemicals Complex (SEPC) is its proximity to Shell's Bukom refinery, which is highly integrated into the new complex, said Mr Voser. This will give SEPC the flexibility to use different feedstock as demand changes.

MRC

March 18 (plasteurope) -- In an announcement limited to individual customers for now, LyondellBasell has declared force majeure for homopolymeric PP from its plant in Carrington / UK. A group spokesperson told the newsletter Plastics Information Europe that the site, with reported capacity of 210,000 t/y, had to be idled due to a shortage in feedstocks, adding that a key supplier currently was unable to deliver sufficient propylene.

Since several other European plants operated by LyondellBasell are also facing bottlenecks due to maintenance works and the tight C3 situation and because no other materials are available, the group said it had no choice but to ration supplies from Carrington's already depleted inventory. It is unclear how long FM will remain in place.

MRC MRC Reference

LyondellBasell. The share in the Russian market in 2008:
PE - 1.4% (including HDPE - 2.5%, LDPE - 0.3%);
PP - 4.1% (including block-copolymers - 9.5%).

Annual sales growth in Russia, during the recent 5 years:
PE - 27%;
PP - 88%.

The leader in the following polymers processing technologies:

pipe extrusion;

film extrusion;

injection molding.

March 18 (telegraph.co.uk) -- Ineos Group, the privately owned chemicals and pharmaceutical company, plans to refinance around ┬1bn (GBP896m) of its senior-term debt by issuing bonds.

The refinancing depends on the agreement of the company's senior lenders and holders of high yield bonds, and represents just under 15pc of Ineos's net debt.

Earlier this week the company said that it is looking at options to strengthen its balance sheet, including "discussions with a range of investors about possible opportunities".

The company, which is majority-owned by entrepreneur Jim Ratcliffe, said that the refinancing will place it in a stronger position as trading improves.
"It is the next step in the company's plan to improve liquidity and reduce risk," Ineos said.

The group said that it plans to refinance a "significant proportion" of its senior term loan debt at par through the issue of senior secured notes and term loans with a maturity of at least five years.

In a statement the company added: "Ineos has weathered the current recession well. Full year earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for 2009 was ┬1,222m compared to ┬594m in 2008. It met budget for the full year 2009 and is trading ahead of its business plan in the early months of 2010. Its financial performance is expected to continue to improve through 2010."

Ineos said its liquidity headroom will also be "significantly enhanced" through two disposals - Ineos ChlorVinyls and Ineos Fluor - which will increase its liquidity by ┬300m and reduce its net debt by around ┬600m.

Ineos stretches across manufacturing, distribution and sales of speciality chemicals and petrochemicals. The company has around 18 businesses across 20 countries, and has created a personal fortune for Mr Ratcliffe. The company was founded around 12 years ago.

MRCMRC Reference

Ineos is a petrochemical group.
In Russia Ineos's interests are represented by Ineos Polyolefins and IneosChlorVinyls.

The share in the Russian market in 2008:
PVC - 4.5%;

polyethylene - 1.9%
(HDPE - 2.8%, LDPE - 1.2%);
polypropylene - 1.4%
(PP-random - 22.1%, PP-impact - 2.0%);
polystyrene - 0.9%.

Imports by polymers processing technologies:
profile extrusion;
pipe extrusion;
film extrusion;
injection molding.

March 18 (yourpetrochemicalnews) -- BASF SE plans to convert its bearer shares to registered shares. A proposal to this effect will be put to the shareholders at the Annual Meeting of BASF SE on April 29, 2010. Registered shares offer benefits for shareholders and the company. They facilitate even better and more direct communication with shareholders and meet the wishes of many shareholders for easy registering and issuance of proxies for the Annual Meeting. The conversion will also generate savings, for example through the sending of invitations to the Annual Meeting directly to shareholders. Unless they object, owners of registered shares will have their name and number of shares entered in the company's share register.

The conversion will not have any affect on the legal position of shareholders recorded in the share register. Their stake in the company remains unchanged and their rights as shareholders will not be affected. Nor will the switch to registered shares limit or complicate the purchase or sale of BASF shares for shareholders. If the annual meeting approves the proposal, the conversion of the 918.5 million BASF shares will take place on August 2, 2010.

Shareholders will be informed by their custodian banks about the upcoming conversion of bearer shares and entry in the share register.

MRCMRC Reference

BASF. The share in the Russian market in 2008:
PS - 9.1% (GPPS - 5.9%, ABS - 11.4%, EPS - 10.6%).

Annual sales growth in Russia over the 5 years:
PS - 15%.

Imports by polymers processing technologies:
foaming;
injection molding.