INEOS Group Holdings S.A. - Q2, 2017 Trading Statement
INEOS Group Holdings S.A. (‘IGH’ or ‘INEOS’) announces its trading performance for the second quarter of 2017.
Based on unaudited management information INEOS reports that EBITDA for the second quarter of 2017 was €638 million, compared to €570 million for Q2, 2016 and €753 million for Q1, 2017.
North American markets have continued to be strong, taking full benefit from their current feedstock advantage. Market conditions in Europe have remained good, supported by the continued weakness of the Euro. In addition, markets in Asia have seen some strength in the quarter.
O&P North America reported EBITDA of €227 million compared to €225 million in Q2, 2016. The business has continued to benefit from its flexibility to be able to utilise cheaper NGL feedstocks to maintain healthy margins. The US cracker business environment was solid with healthy margins and high operating rates throughout the quarter. Polymer demand was strong, particularly in certain product sectors such as pipe and injection moulding grades.
O&P Europe reported EBITDA of €210 million compared to €190 million in Q2, 2016. Demand for olefins in the quarter was solid in a tight market with top of cycle margins. Butadiene prices have now declined from their elevated level in the first quarter of the year. European polymer demand was good in a balanced market, with solid volumes and healthy margins in the quarter.
Chemical Intermediates reported EBITDA of €201 million compared to €155 million in Q2, 2016. The improved performance across all of the businesses continued in the quarter, with sustained good demand for products together with tight supply side conditions as a result of planned and unplanned competitor outages. The overall demand trend in the Oligomers business was strong in most product sectors and markets, most notably in the polymer co-monomer segment, supporting the strong polymer markets. Demand for the Oxide business was stable, with particular strength in ethyl acetate and butanol. Market conditions for the Nitriles business were healthy due to a combination of strong underlying demand, especially in acrylic fibre, and supply limitations due to a number of industry outages. Phenol markets remained balanced, with some weakness in Europe due to customer turnarounds.
The Group has continued to focus on cash management and liquidity. Net debt was approximately €5.2 billion at the end of June 2017. Cash balances at the end of the quarter were €1,339 million, and availability under undrawn working capital facilities was €385 million. Net debt leverage was approximately 2.0 times as at the end of June 2017.