Fourth-quarter net profit at Borealis (Vienna / Austria; www.borealisgroup.com) rose 52% to EUR 210m, compared with the year-earlier period, thanks to a stronger polyolefin market in both Europe and Asia. However, the rise in the natural gas price and operational issues impacted the contribution from Borealis Fertilisers. Borealis said a net profit of EUR 210m is a “very strong finish” to the year. Sales were down 9% to EUR 1.69 bn and for full-year 2020, they fell 16% to EUR 6.81 bn.

Net profit in 2020 plunged 29% to EUR 589m due to the lower oil price environment, which had resulted in reducing the light feedstock advantage and generating negative inventory effects in Europe. Tailwinds came also from weaker polyolefins prices in Asia and a deteriorating fertiliser market. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, demand for polyolefins remained healthy, leading to a slight sales volume year-on-year increase.

OMV (Vienna; www.omv.com), majority shareholder of Borealis, announced the appointment of Thomas Gangl as Borealis CEO effective 1 April 2021, replacing Alfred Stern, who will join the OMV executive board, overseeing the chemicals and materials division. Gangl, 49, is currently an OMV executive board member responsible for the refining and petrochemical operations. As part of its goal to cut debts, OMV said it has decided to start the process of divesting a few more assets within the OMV group, such as Borealis’ nitrogen business unit including the fertiliser, technical nitrogen and melamine products. The company’s share in fertiliser production sites in the Netherlands and Belgium is not presently being considered within the potential sales process, OMV announced.

OMV owns 75% interest in Borealis after buying a further 39% stake from investment firm Mubadala (Abu Dhabi / United Arab Emirates; www.mubadala.com) last October. Mubadala holds the rest of the shares (see Plasteurope.com of 12.11.2020).