LyondellBasell reports record earnings in 2012

Led by its U.S. olefins and polyolefins operations, material supplier LyondellBasell has reported record-breaking earnings of US$2.9 billion in 2012.

The 2012 earnings are an uptick from earnings of US$2.5 billion in 2011.

“Our North American olefins business and our intermediates and derivatives segment set the pace for the year’s strong performance,” said Jim Gallogly, CEO of the Netherlands-based LyondellBasell. “The benefits of our focused back-to-basics strategy were clearly demonstrated as reliable manufacturing operations allowed us to take advantage of favourable market conditions.”

Olefins in North America continue to benefit from strong margins created by low priced natural gas liquid raw materials, Gallogly explained. “However, outside of North America, the global olefins industry continues to experience low operating rates and profitability, negatively impacting our European olefins and commodity polyolefin businesses,” he said.

Over the past two year, Gallogly continued, the company has “advanced every facet of its business processes, including safer and more reliable operations, strict cost control and refurbishing its assets through a large number of major turnarounds. This work has enabled strong returns to shareholders, a strengthened balance sheet, and a significant capital growth program.”

The fourth quarter results were in line with seasonal trends and the company’s expectations, Gallogly added. “We have seen a good start in 2013. Our assets have run well through the early weeks of the new year. Overall, the fundamentals that supported our success during 2012 have continued. Our employees remain very focused, and we anticipate another strong year in 2013,” he said.