Braskem has 50% greater profit in 1st Qtr with high prices

The Braskem petrochemicals grew almost 50 percent in net profit in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, supported by improvement in the demand and prices of resins and other basic products.
The net profit for the period totaled 227 million dollars, 49 percent up from 152 million recorded a year earlier.
The cash flow as measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) adjusted totaled 937 million reais, up 19 percent on the same basis of comparison. The margin in the period went from 9.8 to 10.1 percent.
"Alta is explained mainly by the improvement of thermoplastic resins and spreads main basic petrochemicals in the international market, which had growth of 24 percent and 32 percent, respectively," said Braskem in the balance sheet.
According to Brazilian demand of petrochemical resins has reached 1.3 million tonnes, a high 5 percent over the first quarter of 2012. Meanwhile, Braskem's sales grew 8.8 percent in the period to 921 thousand tons, with the market share of the company advancing the 71 percent.
The company's net income totaled 9.3 billion, up 15 percent compared with the first quarter of 2012, also influenced by the appreciation of the dollar. The cost of goods sold, meanwhile, grew 11 percent to 8.32 billion reais.
Braskem also confirmed the 2.2 billion reais investment planned for 2013, 30 percent above the registered last year after investing 297 million reais in the first three months of this year.
The company also reported that the proposal of the development and implementation of the Rio de Janeiro Petrochemical Complex (Comperj) should be made in 2014, with the assessment by the Board of Directors occurring in the same year.