INEOS Quattro Holdings Limited (‘INEOS Quattro’ or the ‘Group’) announces its trading performance for the third quarter of 2023. Based on unaudited management information, INEOS Quattro reports that EBITDA for the third quarter of 2023 was €166 million, compared to €313 million for Q3, 2022 and €212 million for Q2, 2023.
Market sentiment has continued to be impacted by high inflation rates and high energy costs, particularly in Europe. In response to the challenging market conditions the Group has implemented a number of measures to conserve cash during this period. The Group has implemented policies to control all discretionary fixed costs across the businesses and all capital projects have been reviewed to defer or reduce discretionary expenditure and scheduled turnarounds where it is safe to do so.
Styrolution reported EBITDA of €59 million compared to €76 million in Q3, 2022. Polymer market demand was soft due to general economic uncertainty, weak durable demand and some customers postponing orders. These conditions were prevalent in all regions and across most of our industry sectors. High energy prices, inflation and increasing interest rates weakened overall market sentiment. Volumes and margins did significantly improve for polymers in Asia compared to Q2, 2023, as more discipline returned in the markets after the capacity increases seen in China. SM margins were strong in EMEA and Americas due to outages in the market.
INOVYN reported EBITDA of €77 million compared to €182 million in Q3, 2022. The results were impacted by general purpose and specialty PVC margin reductions and lower caustic soda pricing, partially offset by lower electricity and gas costs. Our portfolio of assets continued to be run at low operating rates during the quarter. Weak demand in the domestic European market for general purpose PVC, combined with ample supply of competitively priced imports, resulted in further erosion of spreads over ethylene. Export general purpose PVC margins have also deteriorated with the continuation of reduced domestic demand in Asia and the US forcing low-cost producers from these regions into export markets. Margins on specialty PVC remain healthy, particularly for our high technical specification products, albeit at lower levels than the comparative quarter. The Q3, 2023 caustic soda European contract price settled at a 42% reduction compared to Q3, 2022, due to weak demand and ample supply. Sales of excess caustic soda tonnes into export markets reached 19% of total volumes compared to 1% in Q2, 2022. European energy markets have stabilised with electricity and natural gas prices consistently trading at lower levels than the prior year, although prices are still high compared to the first half of 2021 and prior.
Acetyls reported EBITDA of €11 million compared to €56 million in Q3, 2022. Demand in Europe remained low for both Acid and Anhydride with customers under strong pressure from cheap Asian imports in their respective markets. The US market continued to see demand well below historical norms, but the market was steady. Asian demand also remained stable, supported by rising Chinese prices, together with industry TARs and unplanned outages in the region.
Aromatics reported EBITDA of €19 million compared to €(1) million in Q3, 2022. Overall PTA sales volumes were lower for Global Aromatics in Q3, 2023 compared to the same quarter last year. The US region saw the largest decline in volumes where pressure from imports was driven by a regional disconnect in the cost of production and the weaker local US demand environment. Europe sales levels were flat compared to Q3, 2022 as the combined headwinds of local competitiveness versus imports and reduced demand in the West have not yet abated. Asian sales volumes were impacted by a scheduled TAR at the Merak site. PTA unit margins were under pressure in all regions as a result of pricing pressure from driving sales volumes in a long market.
Net debt was approximately €5,148 million at September 30, 2023. Cash balances at the end of the quarter were €2,058 million. There was availability under undrawn securitization facilities of €512 million. Net debt leverage was approximately 4.2 times EBITDA at the end of September 2023. INEOS Quattro is continuing to evaluate different financing alternatives and monitor market conditions in accordance with our financial strategy, including with respect to potential refinancings or extensions of its 2026 debt maturities in the global leveraged loan and high yield bond markets.