Nova reports profit jump in 2011

Canadian-based chemical and resin supplier Nova Chemicals Corporation had a good year in 2011, reporting a profit rise of 22 per cent in the fourth quarter.

“We generated a profit of $77 million compared to a profit of $63 million in the fourth quarter of 2010,” the Calgary-based company said in a press release. “For the full year 2011, we generated a profit of $615 million compared to a profit of $263 million for the full year 2010.”

The company’s Performance Styrenics segment reported an operating profit from continuing operations of $1 million in each of the fourth quarters of 2011 and 2010, the company continued. For the full year 2011, the segment generated an operating profit from continuing operations of $7 million compared to an operating profit from continuing operations of $3 million for the full year 2010.

As the only sour note, Nova reported a decline in operating profit in its olefins unit, from $210 million in Q4 2010 to $190 million in Q4 2011. “The quarter-over-quarter decline was due to an increase in margin in our olefins segments that was more than offset by a decline in margins in our polyethylene segment,” Nova said. For the full year though, the business unit generated operating profit of $1.13 billion compared to operating profit of $786 million in 2010. “The year-over-year improvement was primarily due to higher margins in our olefins segments,” Nova said.