Equate Petrochemical reports 11.2% drop in 2008 net profit

09-Mar-09

Kuwait’s Equate Petrochemical Co (a joint-venture with US Dow Chemical Co) has reported an 11.2% fall in 2008 net profit mainly because of a slide in the price of chemical products. The company posted a net profit of US$683 mln in 2008 compared with US$769 mln in the previous year. The reduced profit came despite Equate’s sales last year rising by 5% in the year to US$1.2 bln. Equate is a two-billion-dollar joint venture between Dow Chemical and state-owned Petrochemical Industries Co (PIC), with 42.5%. Bubiyan Petrochemical Company and Al Qurain Petrochemicals hold 9% and 6% stake respectively.