EQUATE Group records net profit of $679 mln for 2016

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KUWAIT CITY, March 30: The EQUATE Group, a global producer of petrochemicals, announced today $679 million in total net profit for the fiscal year ending Dec 31, 2016. The EQUATE Group combines EQUATE Petrochemical Company, its subsidiaries, and The Kuwait Olefins Company (TKOC). EQUATE Group’s CEO Mohammad Husain said, “At all levels, 2016 was an extremely difficult year with prices dropping by more than 14% and the feedstock was limited during the first half of the year for our Group as a whole. Despite these difficulties, the group made several achievements; we became the world’s second largest producer of Ethylene Glycol (EG) with a total production capacity of 2.4 million metric tons annually (MTA).

We made excellent progress on our new 750,000 MTA EG plant in the US Gulf Coast (USGC) with advantaged feedstock. Construction commenced in the fourth quarter of 2016. The project is on time, on budget, and will be ready to start our operations during 2019.” Husain added, “While securing investment grade ratings by S&P (BBB+) and Moody’s (Baa2), the Group successfully issued a total of $2.25 billion bonds. This issuances made us the first non-financial and non-banking Kuwait-based enterprise to tap into such capital market products.” “The petrochemical market witnessed several challenges during 2016. The average price for crude oil was around $42 in comparison with an average of $50 in 2015. Despite those developments, the Group, with strong focus on operational efficiency and cost control, was able to maintain its solid profitability and cash flow, achieving $1.2 billion EBITDA and an EBITDA margin of 33%,” noted Husain.

On the outlook for the petrochemical industry in 2017, Husain said, “Despite high feedstock limitation in some of our locations and fluctuating oil prices, impacting all other business sectors, we expect demand for our products to increase around 4.5% for PE and 4% for EG. EQUATE Group participates in certain downstream segments. So, the support of our employees, shareholders and customers allows us to grow at these rates on the basis of sustainability, reliability and innovation.” Regarding EQUATE Group’s current strategic focus, Husain said, “Our two main focus areas are completing our USGC EG plant on time in 2019, and achieving maximum operational efficiency through the holistic integration of MEGlobal. These steps are critical for our strategic expansion plans as an international petrochemical enterprise with operations in Kuwait, the Americas and Europe. In addition, towards the end of 2017, we will have a major Turnaround (TA) for our Kuwait-based plants, which will include ethylene, ethylene glycol and other units. It will be one of the biggest TAs for petrochemicals in the Middle East & Africa.” In conclusion, Husain extended overall appreciation and gratitude to EQUATE Group’s employees, shareholders, customers and other stakeholders for being “Partners in Success.”

The EQUATE Group is a global producer of petrochemicals that create a better world. The Group combines EQUATE Petrochemical Company (EQUATE), its subsidiaries and The Kuwait Olefins Company (TKOC). The EQUATE Group is the world’s second largest producer of Ethylene Glycol (EG) with industrial complexes in Kuwait, North America and Europe that produce Ethylene, EG, Polyethylene (PE) and Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET). The products are marketed throughout Asia, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As a leading global enterprise, the EQUATE Group strongly pursues sustainability principles and best practices wherever it operates through partnerships with various stakeholders including employees and customers as well as societies as a whole in fields that includes human development, environment, education, health and public awareness.

The EQUATE Group’s shareholders include Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Boubyan Petrochemical Company (BPC) and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company (QPIC). The Group provides reliable services and solutions that enables global customers and stakeholders to grow and attain the success they seek by being “Partners in Success.” www.equate.com

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