LyondellBasell reported profits of $1,762 million ($5.25 per share) in the July-September quarter of 2021, rising from $114 million or 33 cents per share a year earlier but missing analysts’ estimate of $5.78 per share. Revenues, however, increased about 87% year-on-year to $12,700 million in the third quarter, beating the consensus figure of $11,996.5 million. Quarterly consolidated EBITDA jumped nearly six-fold from a year ago to $2,691 million.
Margins strengthened in the quarter owing to robust demand amid tight supply. Its polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) margin indicators hit historic highs in North America. EBITDA of the company’s Olefins & Polyolefins - Americas division more than tripled year on year to $1,568 million. However, the olefins and polyolefins margin weakened in Europe, Asia, and other regions, due to higher naphtha and natural gas liquids feedstock prices. Nevertheless, EBITDA of LyondellBasell’s Olefins & Polyolefins - Europe, Asia, International (EAI) unit surged more than threefold to $474 million.
Rising costs also weighed on margins of most businesses in the Intermediates and Derivatives segment, whose EBITDA rose around 30% year-on-year to $348 million. The Refining business posted a profit of $41 million in the quarter, swinging from a loss of $692 million a year earlier. The Advanced Polymer Solutions unit registered EBITDA of $121 million, dropping 23% from a year ago. Meanwhile, The Technology segment reported EBITDA of $155 million, a year-on-year increase of around 40%.
LyondellBasell had cash and cash equivalents of $1,893 million as of the end of September, down about 23% from a year earlier. Long-term debt came in at $12,945 million, dropping around 6% year over year. The company generated $2.1 billion in cash from operations in the third quarter and returned $0.5 billion to shareholders through dividend and share buyback. LyondellBasell’s shares have climbed 33.4% in the past year, outperforming the 26.2% gain in the chemical industry. The company expects strong demand to continue ahead, driven by the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.
