INEOS GROUP HOLDINGS S.A.
Q3, 2021 Trading Statement
INEOS Group Holdings S.A. (‘IGH’ or ‘INEOS’) announces its trading performance for the third quarter of 2021.
Based on unaudited management information INEOS reports that EBITDA for the third quarter of 2021 was a record €1,062 million, compared to €431 million for Q3, 2020 and €1,034 million for Q2, 2021. EBITDA for LTM September 2021 was a record €3,281 million.
All of the Group’s sites have continued to operate fully during the current COVID-19 virus pandemic and supply chains have operated without significant disruption. Market conditions have been buoyant in the third quarter, with very strong demand in all regions and markets.
O&P North America reported EBITDA of €561 million compared to €123 million in Q3, 2020. Ethylene markets were tight, with a combination of strong derivative demand and some industry outages due to adverse weather or maintenance impacting supply. Polymer markets were buoyant with very strong demand from a resurgent US economy and supply constrained by a number of industry outages. Margins for polymers were very healthy in the quarter.
O&P Europe reported EBITDA of €278 million compared to €135 million in Q3, 2020. Markets for olefins in the quarter were good, with healthy demand across all products, together with some supply constraints from industry turnarounds. Demand for butadiene was particularly strong, resulting in significant price increases in the quarter. Demand in European polymer markets was firm in all segments with healthy margins.
Chemical Intermediates reported EBITDA of €223 million compared to €173 million in Q3, 2020. Overall demand in the Oligomers business was good across the product portfolio, with particular strength in co-monomers. Demand was very good across all market sectors for the Oxide business, with tight markets supported by some competitor supply constraints in Europe. The markets for the Nitriles business were balanced, with strong demand in the key sectors of ABS, acrylic fibre and carbon fibre. Demand for the Phenol business from end use consumer sectors remained strong, with polycarbonate, nylon and epoxy resins all at a high level.
The Group has continued to focus on cash management and liquidity. Net debt was approximately €5.6 billion at the end of September 2021 (including the Gemini Term Loan). Cash balances at the end of the quarter were €2,195 million, and availability under undrawn working capital facilities was €782 million. Net debt leverage was approximately 1.7 times as at the end of September 2021.