More European petchem producers announce Q1 financial results

The Vienna-based producer Borealis announced a net profit of €240 million for the first quarter of 2018 compared to €313 million in the same quarter of 2017, due to a turnaround at Borouge 2 complex.

The company’s net sales were up by 4% from €2.030 billion in the same quarter of the previous year to €2.122 billion.

Royal Dutch Shell released its first-quarter results with strong earnings, underpinned by higher oil and gas prices, and improved profitability in its upstream business. The company’s net income advanced by 67% to $5.899 billion in the first quarter while its cash flow from operations amounted to $9.4 billion, slightly down from $9.508 billion in the same quarter of 2017.

The company’s downstream earnings plunged by 32% to $1.687 billion in the first quarter, meanwhile, due to less favorable refining market conditions, and lower contributions from trading.

The UK-headquartered producer, BP, posted its best quarterly net profit in three years at $2.6 billion, up by 23% from the previous quarter and 71% from the same quarter of last year. The company’s net profit in the upstream sector increased by 14% to $3.2 billion, marking its best result since the third quarter of 2014. In the downstream, meanwhile, the company delivered earnings of $1.8 billion this quarter.

Meanwhile, German chemicals giant BASF’s net income declined by €30 million to €1.679 billion while its EBITDA was down by €54 million to €3.448 billion in the first quarter of 2018. Similarly, sales declined by €211 million compared with the first quarter of the previous year to €16.646 billion due to significantly negative currency effects in all segments. Cash flows from operating amounted to €1.231 billion, up by €398 million compared with the prior-year quarter.