Russian petrochemical giant Sibur reported a 15.2% year-on-year fall in its EBITDA for the first quarter of 2020, due to lower margins for most products amid the coronavirus pandemic. EBITDA from the gas refinery and infrastructure segments dropped by 22.8%. In comparison, earnings in the olefins and polyolefins segment rose 7% supported by higher polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) sales from the Zapsibneftekhim complex.
The company’s PP sales surged by 87.3% to 243,000 tons, while PE sales jumped by more than 100% to 132,000 tons. Sibur noted that the ZapSib complex in Tobolsk, Russia contributed to the decline of 29.9% in its LPG sales. Meanwhile, the company’s naphtha sales were relatively steady compared to a year earlier.
The elastomers segment became Sibur’s worst-performing segment, recording an EBITDA loss of 21.4% year-on-year. Sibur attributed the decline to the slowdown in the automotive industry, the segment’s primary customer.
The company said it had sufficient liquidity to counter the impact of market volatility and lower prices. It also expects growing demand from the food and medical industries that can sustain in the near future.