North American PE and PS producer Nova Chemicals (Calgary, Alberta / Canada; www.novachem.com) said that 2009 had seen four consecutive quarters of improvement in earnings as it reported a fourth quarter 2009 operating profit of USD 73m (EUR 53m), compared with an operating loss of USD 315m in the same period in 2008. Losses in the first six months of 2009 took the result to an operating loss of USD 125m for the full year, contrasting the USD 56m profit reported for 2008.

Nova said there had been a year-on-year increase in demand in the fourth quarter of 2009, with prices stabilising and beginning to rise. Operating costs in the quarter were lower thanks to reduced utility costs. Corporate costs in 2009 increased year-on-year primarily due to Nova’s acquisition by International Petrochemical Investment Company (IPIC, Abu Dhabi / UAE; www.ipic.ae) in July 2009 – see Plasteurope.com of 09.07.2009.