INEOS Group: Q2, 2010 Trading Statement
INEOS Group Holdings PLC confirms a continuation of strong trading conditions in the second quarter of 2010.
Based on management information INEOS reports that Historical Cost EBITDA (‘HC EBITDA’) for the second quarter of 2010 was €478 million, compared to €352 million for Q2, 2009 and €494 million for Q1, 2010. Refining inventory holding losses amounted to €18 million in the quarter, reflecting the movement in crude oil prices over the period. Combined Replacement Cost EBITDA for Refining and Historical Cost EBITDA for Chemicals (‘RC/HC EBITDA’) was €496 million for the quarter, compared to €239 million for Q2, 2009 and €474 million for Q1, 2010. YTD June 2010 RC/HC EBITDA was €970 million compared to €392 million for the same period last year. The Group now uses RC/HC EBITDA to measure its compliance with the financial covenants under its senior banking facility.
Chemical Intermediates reported HC EBITDA of €275 million compared to €156 million in Q2, 2009. Demand for chemical intermediates has continued to be strong across all sectors and all regions. Utilisation rates in the Nitriles and Phenol businesses have been at record levels. The market for acrylonitrile has been very tight and high margins have been maintained. Phenol has also experienced high margins in the quarter with strong demand in Asia, Europe and the US. The Phenol plant at Gladbeck had its scheduled turnaround in the quarter. Underlying demand for Oligomers continued to improve in the quarter. The Oxide business continued to benefit from strong demand for its derivative products, particularly surfactants.
O&P Europe reported HC EBITDA of €157 million compared to €47 million in Q2, 2009. Demand for olefins was strong, resulting in improved margins in the quarter, particularly in butadiene. Cracker utilisations were above the industry average for the quarter. Polyolefin demand remained good, with HDPE and LLDPE reasonably balanced but LDPE and PP globally tight. Polymer margins also experienced some improvement from the first quarter.
O&P North America reported HC EBITDA of €78 million compared to €66 million in Q2, 2009. One of the crackers at Chocolate Bayou had a scheduled major turnaround during the quarter, which impacted the results for the period. Excluding the turnaround, cracker utilisation in the US was well above the industry average for the quarter. The business has continued to benefit from its flexibility to be able to utilise cheaper gas feedstocks to improve margins. The market has continued to be tight with improving domestic demand.
Refining reported RC EBITDA loss of €14 million compared to a loss of €30 million in Q2, 2009. Inventory holding losses amounted to €18 million in the quarter compared to gains of €113 million in Q2, 2009. Refining margins have remained reasonable in the quarter. The market for light distillates has improved, with demand for naphtha remaining relatively strong with solid demand from the petrochemicals sector. Demand for gasoline and middle distillates was weak, with industry capacity returning from turnarounds also impacting margins. There were scheduled turnarounds of the hydrocracker units in Grangemouth and Lavera and the crude distillation unit in Lavera during the quarter.
The Group has continued to focus on cash management and liquidity. Net debt was approximately €7.4 billion at the end of June 2010. Cash balances at the end of the quarter were €677 million. Net debt leverage was 4.95 times as at the end of June 2010.
As part of the Group’s recent refinancing, the maturity of the Receivables Securitisation Facility has now been successfully extended to July 2013.
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