No recovery in US housing sector

11-Jun-08

Japan's Shin-Etsu, world's number one polyvinyl chloride (PVC) maker has been badly afflicted by the slump in the US housing sector. The company sees no signs of recovery in the US housing market and is looking to emerging markets such as the Middle East, SE Asia and the Caribbean for growth. Shin-Etsu unit Shintech Inc., with a 30% share of the US PVC market, has posted a 19.1%t decline in net profit in calendar 2007 to US$202 mln. Of this, almost 60-70% of Shin-Etsu´s PVC business is from construction materials. Shin-Etsu is aiming for flat earnings from its PVC business this year, even as it plans to bring onstream a new Louisiana plant that could lower PVC prices further. Demand from abroad will help in full capacity utilization of the new plant.