Healthy integrated polyolefin margins and a strong profit contribution by Borouge have kept annual profits for Borealis (Vienna / Austria; www.borealisgroup.com) above EUR 1 bn in 2017. The major polyolefins producer announced a net profit of EUR 1.1 bn, which was roughly in line with 2016’s result, with net sales climbing 4.8% to reach nearly EUR 7.6 bn.

For the fourth quarter, Borealis posted a net profit of EUR 247m, which was about 3% up on the same quarter in 2016. Net sales rose by 2.7% to EUR 1.85 bn.

The company announced several major projects last year. “During 2017 we continued to transition into a new phase of growth and global outreach with a veritable feast of major growth projects over the next few years,” said CEO Mark Garrett.

These include the signing of a preliminary agreement with Nova Chemicals (Calgary, Alberta / Canada; www.novachemicals.com) and Total Petrochemicals and Refining USA (Houston, Texas / USA; www.totalpetrochemicalsusa.com) to build a joint light feed cracker and “Borstar” PE plant in Bayport, Texas – see Plasteurope.com of 29.03.2017.

Another investment in the US was the decision to build an automotive PP plant in Taylorsville, North Carolina – see Plasteurope.com of 29.05.2017. In Europe, Borealis announced the front end engineering design (FEED) of its proposed propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant in Kallo / Belgium – see Plasteurope.com of 09.10.2017 – as well as plans to debottleneck its PP assets – see Plasteurope.com of 07.11.2017.

With regard to joint venture Borouge, Borealis and Abu Dhabi National Oil (Adnoc, Abu Dhabi / UAE; www.adnoc.com) signed a framework agreement in 2017 on two key projects, namely the construction of Borouge 4 and an additional PP plant (PP5) to be integrated within the Borouge 3 complex – see Plasteurope.com of 19.07.2017. In addition, the “Anteo” range of LLDPE packaging grades was launched.

Looking ahead, Garrett remains confident that 2018 will be a solid year. He says, “With upcoming significant global capacity expansions, we expect some softening of polyolefin prices in Europe but believe that improved performance in fertilisers will compensate the price pressure in polyolefins, at least to a certain extent.”