Formosa Group’s core firms report largest increase in monthly revenues

05-Sep-12

Formosa Petrochemical Corp reported the largest increase in monthly revenue among the Formosa Plastics Group’s four core companies, as per Taipei Times. The oil refiner said in the filing that its revenue last month rose 12.5% to NT$70.84 bln (US$2.37 bln) from NT$62.97 bln in July, bolstered by the recent price surges in global crude oil amid tighter supply, as well as higher prices for olefin products. Crude oil output at its refineries rose to 474,000 barrels a day last month from 370,000 barrels at the end of July, with two of its refineries running at nearly 100% last month. These also contributed to the monthly increase in sales. On an annual basis, Formosa Petrochemical’s revenue surged 112.9% from NT$33.27 billion the year before, when the company was forced to shut down its refineries because of a string of safety incidents at its industrial complex in Mailiao. Formosa Plastics Corp, the group’s flagship company, said last month’s revenue edged up 0.5% month-on-month to NT$14.61 bln. However, the figure was down 7.7% year-on-year. Last month saw increased sales of products such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), but these were mostly offset by lower revenues from other products like polyethylene (PE) due to weak demand, the company said in a filing. However, the company said it expected to see strong revenue growth this month, along with a gradual increase in utilization rate, which it hoped would reach 87%, from 77% last month, and rise further to 93-94% next month. Formosa Chemicals and Fibre Corp, producer of aromatics and styrenics, reported a 12.2% revenue increase to NT$22.44 billion from the previous month, and an increase of 3.7% from a year earlier. Nan Ya Plastics Corp, the nation’s largest plastics manufacturer, reported a sequential sales increase of 5.9% to NT$15.61 bln last month, as well as a slight increase of 0.1% from one year ago. Overall, the four core companies posted a combined revenue of NT$123.5 bln last month, up 10.02% from NT$112.26 bln in July and 43.06% from the NT$86.33 bln posted a year earlier.