Q2, 2018 Trading Statement
INEOS Group Holdings S.A. (‘IGH’ or ‘INEOS’) announces its trading performance for the second quarter of 2018.
Based on unaudited management information INEOS reports that EBITDA for the second quarter of 2018 was €683 million, compared to €638 million for Q2, 2017 and €618 million for Q1, 2018.
North American markets were solid, taking full benefit from their current feedstock advantage. Market conditions in Europe have remained good, whilst markets in Asia have seen some strength in the quarter.
O&P North America reported EBITDA of €247 million compared to €227 million in Q2, 2017. 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 good operating rates throughout the quarter. The increased supply from new industry capacity coming online has led to reductions in ethylene margins. In contrast polymer demand was strong, with balanced markets and good margins.
O&P Europe reported EBITDA of €201 million compared to €210 million in Q2, 2017. Demand for olefins in the quarter was balanced, with some weakness in ethylene offset by strong demand for propylene. The propylene market remained tight with limited supply due to refinery and industry cracker outages. Butadiene was supported by strong domestic demand in the quarter. European polymer demand was stable in a balanced market, with solid volumes and healthy margins in the quarter.
Chemical Intermediates reported EBITDA of €235 million compared to €201 million in Q2, 2017. All of the businesses performed well in the quarter, with sustained good demand for most products. The demand trend in the Oligomers business was solid, with tight markets for both hexene and octene. Demand for the Oxide business was generally balanced, with firm glycol demand in Europe offset by some softness in Asia. Market conditions for the Nitriles business were tight with strong demand from all derivatives, particularly ABS and acrylamide, coupled with a number of competitor turnarounds leading to healthy margins. Demand for the Phenol business was balanced overall, with good demand for phenol countered by some length in acetone in the quarter.
The Group has continued to focus on cash management and liquidity. Net debt was approximately €4.3 billion at the end of June 2018. Cash balances at the end of the quarter were €1,924 million, and availability under undrawn working capital facilities was €436 million. Net debt leverage was approximately 1.8 times as at the end of June 2018.