Grand Pacific Petrochemical Corp (國喬石化), the petrochemical arm of CTBC Group (和信集團), is to maintain full utilization rate at its styrene monomer plants in the second half of this year, as demand for the product remains high and the revenue-to-material cost spread is broadening, the company said yesterday.
“Styrene monomer supply has become tight this year, as there is no additional output in the market,” a company official told the Taipei Times by telephone. “Moreover, China has provided 5 percent growth in demand on average in the past few years.”
In addition, the spread — or the price gap between ethylene and the petrochemical product extracted from the raw material — has beaten market expectations, he said.
Styrene monomer — used to make rubber, fiberglass, auto parts and food containers — contributed about 44 percent of the company’s overall sales last year, said Grand Pacific, which has an annual styrene monomer output of 370,000 tonnes at each of its factories in Taiwan and China.
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), which is used in home appliances and auto parts, contributed 27 percent to sales last year.
The utilization rate at its ABS plants in Zhangzhou, China, would remain at about 90 percent in the second half, while its Taiwan factory would be between 60 percent and 70 percent, flat from the first quarter, Grand Pacific said.
The company reported that cumulative revenue declined by 12.64 percent to NT$8.79 billion (US$282.62 million) in the first five months, from NT$10.06 billion in the same period a year earlier, as a result of routine inspections of its styrene monomer production lines from February to April.
As the price of Brent crude oil remains unstable, the Kaohsiung-based company is still conservative about the second half, it said.
Grand Pacific shares were down 0.93 percent, closing at NT$21.2 in Taipei trading yesterday.
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