Global energy, petchem companies face weak Q3 results as economic headwinds weigh

Global energy and petrochemical companies have been announcing their financial results for the third quarter of 2023. The yearly comparisons mostly pointed to weaker outcomes under the shadow of weak economic dynamics that have been surrounding the industry, let alone the impact of volatile crude oil markets.

China’s two major producers - Sinopec and PetroChina – and India’s Reliance seem to the rare exceptions to buck the general trend as they reported quite healthy profits despite the turbulent economy across the board.

Meanwhile, many petrochemical producers including France’s TotalEnergies, Spain’s Repsol, US Eastman, Thailand’s SCG, UAE’s Borouge, US ExxonMobil and LyondellBasell have all announced weaker results, as covered earlier in ChemOrbis.

Here are more of them:

BASF swings to net loss

German chemicals company BASF recorded a net loss of €249 million ($264.4 million) in Q3 2023 compared to the €909 million profit during the same period of last year. The company cited lower product prices and volumes, as well as weaker global demand as the main factors behind the loss.

BASF Group’s sales in the third quarter of 2023 amounted to €15.7 billion, down by €6.2 billion compared with the prior-year period, the company announced.

As for the fourth quarter of 2023, BASF thinks that the macroeconomic outlook remains extremely uncertain in the current interest rate policy environment and in view of increasing geopolitical risks. Rising raw materials prices in particular could weigh on demand and margins.

PetroChina reports bright Q3 results

Asia’s largest oil and gas producer PetroChina Co Ltd. has reported a 21% growth in its net profit for the third quarter when compared to the same period of 2022. Accordingly, the company’s net profit rose to CNY46.38 billion ($6.3 billion) amid increased production and better domestic demand, which counterbalanced falling oil and gas prices.

INEOS’ Q3 EBITDA slumps

UK-based multinational chemicals company INEOS’ EBITDA for the third quarter was revealed at €403 million, down from €511 million in the same period of 2022. Weaker demand and margins as a result of high energy costs, particularly in Europe, and high inflation levels were cited as the reasons behind the yearly decrease in the company’s net profit.

LG Chem’s net profit down by 8% on year

South Korea’s leading chemicals company LG Chem’s net profit for the third quarter fell by 18% to 586.02 billion won ($433 million), from 713.87 billion won ($530 million) in the same period of last year. The company attributed this to weaker sales of petrochemical products amid an economic slowdown.

BP records lowest third-quarter profit since 2020

British energy giant BP reported a net profit of $3.3 billion for the third quarter, down from $8.2 billion in the third quarter of 2022. This marked the lowest third-quarter profit since 2020, when oil futures and demand slumped amid pandemic lockdowns.

In the meantime, the figure lagged behind the company’s target to achievearound $4 billion profit.

The company voiced optimism regarding oil demand for the upcoming term, however, pointing to supply cutbacks from OPEC+ as a factor that may prop up crude oil markets.

Phillips 66 sees lower income from chemicals segment

American multinational energy company Phillips 66 has registered a net income of $2.01 billion for the third quarter, down from $5.39 billion in the same period in 2022. The chemicals segment, which reflects Phillips 66’s equity investment in Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC (CPChem), posted a third-quarter income of $104 million, down from the previous quarter.

Reliance Industries’ net income up on year

Indian petrochemical and refinery company Reliance Industries Limited’s (RIL) consolidated revenues for the second quarter of the current fiscal year (2023-2024), covering the July-September period, increased by 1.2% year-on-year to $30.8 billion. Meanwhile, the company’s consolidated EBITDA surged by 30.2% to $5.4 billion during the same period, with help from continuous growth in domestic businesses.

RIL achieved a noteworthy gain in net profit during the period, with the figure rising by 29.7% to $2.4 billion year-on-year.

Chandra Asri sees improved results despite a net loss

Lastly, Indonesian petrochemicals company Chandra Asri reported a net loss of $19.9 million for the first three quarters of 2023. Nonetheless, the company achieved a notable improvement as the figure wasdown by 82% from the same period of last year when the company registered a significant net loss of $111.1 million.

Additionally, the company’s revenue receded by 15% year on year to stand at $1.66 billion for the January-September period.