April 25, 2019
Q1, 2019 Trading Statement
INEOS Group Holdings S.A. (‘IGH’ or ‘INEOS’) announces its trading performance for the first quarter of 2019.
Based on unaudited management information INEOS reports that EBITDA for the first quarter of 2019 was €521 million, compared to €618 million for Q1, 2018 and €356 million for Q4, 2018.
North American markets were solid, taking full benefit from their current feedstock advantage. Market conditions in Europe have remained generally good, but markets in Asia have seen some weakness in the quarter.
O&P North America reported EBITDA of €202 million compared to €183 million in Q1, 2018. The business has continued to benefit from its flexibility to be able to utilise cheaper NGL feedstocks to maintain margins. The US cracker business environment was generally solid with good operating rates throughout the quarter. Ethylene markets remained long, with increased supply availability impacting margins. Polymer demand was generally good, with balanced markets and solid margins.
O&P Europe reported EBITDA of €143 million compared to €192 million in Q1, 2018. Demand for olefins in the quarter was firm in a balanced market with solid margins. Olefin volumes were negatively impacted by a scheduled turnaround of the Rafnes cracker in the quarter. European polymer demand was good, but increased competition from imports reduced margins in the quarter.
Chemical Intermediates reported EBITDA of €176 million compared to €243 million in Q1, 2018. The overall demand trend in the Oligomers business was good across most product sectors and markets. Demand for the Oxide business was generally balanced with firm demand. Margins were impacted by reduced glycol margins due to weak Asian demand. The markets for the Nitriles business were solid with good underlying demand, although acrylic fibre markets were weaker. Volumes were adversely impacted by unscheduled outages at the Green Lake and Seal Sands facilities in the quarter. Demand for the Phenol business was stable, with some weakness in margins due to lower returns on acetone.
The Group has continued to focus on cash management and liquidity. Net debt was approximately €5.4 billion at the end of March 2019. Cash balances at the end of the quarter were €1,203 million, and availability under undrawn working capital facilities was €277 million. Net debt leverage was approximately 2.4 times as at the end of March 2019.