Europe top stories: weekly summary

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 9 November.

Europe cracker margins firmer again on weaker naphtha, LPG feed
European ethylene cracker margins have risen for the second consecutive week on the back of an ongoing decline in euro-denominated feedstock costs, according to ICIS margin analysis.

Arkema Q3 net income up, earnings grow for all divisions
Arkema’s third-quarter net income rose 22.5% year on year to €174m on the back of stronger earnings for all three divisions and ongoing robust thiochemicals and hydrogen peroxide demand, the France-headquartered specialty chemicals player said.

EU policy changes favour R-PET market but some players want bolder steps
Recent legislative decisions in the EU are pushing recycled polyethylene terephthalate (R-PET) in the right direction, but not all European market participants consider them a bold-enough step.

Swiss Sika strong candidate for BASF construction chems arm – Bernstein
Switzerland-headquartered Sika is a strong candidate to acquire BASF’s construction chemicals operations, analysts at Bernstein Research said, as one of the few companies in the space with the scale to make a serious bid for the assets and a strong overlap in operations.

Germany’s chemicals stagnating growth continues in third quarter
Growth in the German chemicals industry continued to slow in the third quarter, despite a return to positive figures after a disappointing second quarter, the country’s chemicals trade group VCI said.

Asia price falls drive October Global IPEX down 3%
Falling prices in northeast Asia and western Europe drove the Global ICIS Petrochemical Index (IPEX) sharply lower in October.

Nutrien positive on potash despite $1bn third-quarter loss
Growing pains continue to dog Nutrien, 10 months after the “merger of equals” between muriate of potash (MOP) fertilizer firms PotashCorp and Agrium that created the Canadian agribusiness major.

Poland’s Azoty swings to a loss in Q3 on higher gas prices
Grupa Azoty swung to a net loss in the third quarter, year on year, on the back of higher natural gas and petrochemical feedstock prices, the Polish chemicals and fertilizers major said.

Rhine low water woes to continue into 2019, players fear ‘disastrous’ Q1
Water levels on the River Rhine are set to remain at critically low levels well into 2019, with petrochemicals players fearing a “disastrous” situation in the first quarter if the weeks ahead continue to be dry.