CIECH
Polish polyurethane foam plant on the sales block / Further trimming of the business 'fat' to focus on core competency / Potential Chinese buyer shows interest
Restructuring measures are apparently still a focus at Polish chemicals producer Ciech (Warsaw; www.ciech.com), where according to the "Polish Press Agency" (PAP) the company plans to continue selling off activities which are not related to their core business activities. The latest asset to land on the sales block is subsidiary, Ciech Pianki (Bydgoszcz / Poland; www.ciechpianki.pl), a manufacturer of polyurethane foams.
The Polish management team appears to be in no rush to offload the plant, which was spun off as an independent subsidiary in 2011 and aligned to the company's "Organic" segment. Company chief executive Dariusz Krawczyk told local media that “the only question is choosing the right time and getting a satisfactory price offer".
There are reports floating around that Chinese Yantai Wanhua Polyurethanes (Yantai; www.ytpu.com) has expressed interest in scooping up the PU foam business, but so far no confirmation by the company of what the status may actually be.
Plagued by debt issues, the company has been in restructuring mode for several months and states at its website that the early revenue statements from 2013 are showing positive results from many intense months of cutting, moving and selling parts of its overall business. As part of a comprehensive plan to allow the company to focus on its soda ash business, Ciech has already sold its TDI production assets to the Polish unit of German chemical group BASF (Ludwigshafen; www.basf.com) – see Plasteurope.com Web from 13.03.2013.
The company is struggling to trim EUR 100m in 2013 from roughly an overall debt of EUR 650m. Revenues in 2012 rose 5% to approximately EUR 1 bn, with an operating result of EUR 43m debt, and a net loss of EUR 106m. At the Ciech Pianki site revenues were down 5% to EUR 47m, which Krawczyk said was due to a large part on the downward trend in demand in the country's furniture and upholstery sectors.
The Pianki facility started out as Organic Chemical Plant Zach in 1971 and was the country’s first producer of flexible foams. An upgrade followed in 1999 which allowed it to produce highly elastic material. By 2007 the product range was extended to include lightweight and flame retardant foams.
The Polish management team appears to be in no rush to offload the plant, which was spun off as an independent subsidiary in 2011 and aligned to the company's "Organic" segment. Company chief executive Dariusz Krawczyk told local media that “the only question is choosing the right time and getting a satisfactory price offer".
There are reports floating around that Chinese Yantai Wanhua Polyurethanes (Yantai; www.ytpu.com) has expressed interest in scooping up the PU foam business, but so far no confirmation by the company of what the status may actually be.
Plagued by debt issues, the company has been in restructuring mode for several months and states at its website that the early revenue statements from 2013 are showing positive results from many intense months of cutting, moving and selling parts of its overall business. As part of a comprehensive plan to allow the company to focus on its soda ash business, Ciech has already sold its TDI production assets to the Polish unit of German chemical group BASF (Ludwigshafen; www.basf.com) – see Plasteurope.com Web from 13.03.2013.
The company is struggling to trim EUR 100m in 2013 from roughly an overall debt of EUR 650m. Revenues in 2012 rose 5% to approximately EUR 1 bn, with an operating result of EUR 43m debt, and a net loss of EUR 106m. At the Ciech Pianki site revenues were down 5% to EUR 47m, which Krawczyk said was due to a large part on the downward trend in demand in the country's furniture and upholstery sectors.
The Pianki facility started out as Organic Chemical Plant Zach in 1971 and was the country’s first producer of flexible foams. An upgrade followed in 1999 which allowed it to produce highly elastic material. By 2007 the product range was extended to include lightweight and flame retardant foams.
06.06.2013 Plasteurope.com [225470-0]
Published on 06.06.2013
German version of this article...