Indorama Ventures, a global chemical producer, has recorded net profit of THB 10,863 million ($181.98 million) in the first quarter of 2018, up 31 per cent on year-on-year basis. EBITDA was $344 million, an increase of 34 per cent y-o-y, which is reflective of underlying strength in all segments and structural improvement in the polyester value chain.
The star performer in the first quarter was PET, which grew its EBITDA by 64 per cent, while feedstock EBITDA grew 23 per cent and fibre EBITDA grew 10 per cent. Operating cash flow grew 10 per cent to $249 million. First quarter production volume increased by 6 per cent y-o-y to 2.3 million tonnes, mainly as a result of organic volume growth, operational excellence projects and higher operating rates as well as the successful integration of the HVA acquisitions announced in 2017.
In a strategic move to enhance earnings potential and add long-term value to the business in the Americas, the company has announced the acquisition of a 550,000 tonnes/ annum PET facility in Brazil, and a joint investment in a 2.4 million tonne PTA-PET project at Corpus Christi in the US.
The company’s operating cash flow over the last twelve months of $941 million has helped strengthen its balance sheet with the net operating debt to equity ratio improving to 0.39. Its growth plans include several strategic projects and a robust M&A pipeline that will continue to improve returns and add earnings growth over and above our organic initiatives.
“We have started the year with an outstanding performance and an all-time high financial and operational result. This performance reflects the robustness of our strategy, but diversified across the value chain and geographically, the dedication of our employees and the desire to create sustainable growth in value for all our stakeholders. The strength of our balance sheet, predictable cash flows and accretive growth avenue gives me the confidence that we will achieve our stated target of 45 per cent EBITDA growth in 2019 over 2017,” Aloke Lohia, group CEO of Indorama Ventures, said.
