Kuwait petchem giant Equate's revenue surges to $1.26bn
KUWAIT, August 4, 2018
The Equate Group, a leading producer of petrochemicals based in Kuwait, has reported the highest second quarter earnings in the company's history with its total revenue hitting $1.26 billion, up 37.5 per cent over last year.
A wholly-owned subsidiary of Equate Petrochemical, the company is an international joint venture with key shareholders including Petrochemical Industries Company, The Dow Chemical Company, Boubyan Petrochemical Company and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company.
Announcing the results for the first six months, Equate said its net income rose to $427 million, up 75 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Ebitda for Q2 was $570 million in 2018, compared to $383 million in second quarter of 2017, an increase of 48.7 per cent, it added.
The Equate Group is the world’s second largest producer of Ethylene Glycol. With industrial complexes in Kuwait, North America and Europe, it annually produces over 5 million tons of Ethylene, Ethylene Glycol (EG), Polyethylene and Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET).
For the first half of the year, the Kuwaiti group realised a record breaking ebitda of $1.15 billion, an increase of 34 per cent over the same period last year. First half net income was $862 million, up 56 per cent from the first half of 2017.
On the solid results, President and CEO Dr Ramesh Ramachandran said: "Equate’s higher earnings in second quarter were primarily driven by high prices in EG across the globe and a very good pricing environment in the Polyethylene and PET businesses."
"Operational reliability in the second quarter continued to be excellent which enabled us to capitalise on the high prices. Safe operations remain our number one priority globally," stated Ramachandran.
"Good cost control and the cost and growth synergies from the MEGlobal merger have also enabled Equates to deliver an outstanding quarter," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
