Braskem (São Paulo / Brazil; www.braskem.com) has reported a rise in operating profits in Q1 on the back of vibrant PP sales in Europe and the US and good chemical turnover in Brazil. The company said growth was also driven by higher spreads for resins and chemicals in Brazil, for polypropylene in the US and Europe, and for polyethylene in Mexico. Group operating profits, excluding non-recurring items, reached BRL 6.94 bn (EUR 1.08 bn), compared with BRL 1.28 bn in Q1 2020. Net revenues were 80% higher at BRL 22.7 bn thanks to higher prices for resins and chemicals in international markets.

Braskem’s Q1 sales volumes in the Brazilian market rose 17% compared with Q1 2020, led by increased gasoline sales due to the impact of Covid-19 on fuel demand, and by higher benzene sales that reflected the strong polystyrene market. Braskem said Brazilian demand for resins – PE, PP and PVC – grew 16% in Q1 2021, with healthy demand cited in sectors such as automotive, infrastructure, agribusiness, construction, home appliances and packaging.

In the US and Europe, Braskem’s Q1 PP sales volume rose 9% following the commercial start-up of the new Delta PP plant in the US in September 2020 (see Plasteurope.com of 23.09.2020) and by higher product availability in Europe. In Mexico, Braskem’s PE sales volumes sank 37%, hit by the operational shutdown in December 2020 (see Plasteurope.com of 10.12.2020).

Group Q1 net profits reached BRL 2.5 bn, reversing the loss of BRL 3.65 bn in the year-earlier period. Braskem said it continues to set aside assets for environmental damage related to salt mining operations in the Brazil’s northeastern state of Alagoas (see Plasteurope.com of 19.03.2021). The company said that on 31 March 2021 it recorded a provision of BRL 8.45 bn.

In an update on its investments, Braskem reported that the expansion of its “green” ethylene production capacity to 260,000 t/y from 200,000 t/y using feedstock made from sugarcane ethanol is expected to start up at the end of 2022 (see Plasteurope.com of 25.02.2021).

In partnership with Valoren (www.valoren.com.br), which specialises in developing and operating technologies for transforming solid waste, Braskem is investing BRL 67m in the construction of a recycling line with capacity to transform some 250m pieces of packaging into 14,000 t of high-quality, post-consumer resin per year (see Plasteurope.com of 19.03.2021). The project, located in Indaiatuba, is expected to start operations in Q4 2021.