South Korea-based chemical producer Songwon (Ulsan; www.songwonind.com) has reported a 55% year-on-year increase in operating profit to KRW 76.4 bn (EUR 64.1m) for 2016. Sales were up 6.1% to KRW 694 bn, boosted by growth in the company’s One Pack Systems business, which saw facilities coming on stream in Abu Dhabi / UAE and Qingdao / China during 2016.

The company said that it had recorded stable production at high utilisation rates throughout the year, implemented a capacity expansion in its Maeam / Korea plant and continued to drive organic growth across all business areas.

Hans-Peter Wüest, Songwon CFO, said: “We will continue to focus on operational excellence, strengthening Songwon’s development capability and building an innovative, well-balanced portfolio while keeping an eye on growth and achieving solid financial results and a sound balance sheet for our stakeholders.”

In the near future, Songwon anticipates moderate to high growth in polymer stabilisers resulting from an increase in demand for plastics and polyolefins supported by large investments in capacity by customers, particularly in China, the Middle East, Africa and North America.