Chimcomplex reported a net profit of 165 million lei (33.5 million euro), with a turnover of 1,222 billion lei (247 million euro), in the first half of this year (H1).

The company carried out an intense commercial activity, polyols – polyethers had a weight of 56% in total sales, these being products with a major impact in the decarbonization process. Chlorosodium products had a share of 33% in total sales, followed by oxo-alcohols, with 4%.

Sales on the foreign market, mostly addressed to European Union markets, represented in the first semester approximately 90.79% of total sales, according to financialintelligence.ro.

Operating expenses increased in 2022 due to the purchase prices of raw materials and utilities, which had an upward trend from January to June 2022. Their growth rate was higher than the increase in the selling price of Chimcomplex finished products.

The company’s profitability thus decreased in the first 6 months of 2022, obtaining a net profit decreasing by 42% compared to the same period of 2021.

“Our strategy gives good results and shows operational performance. However, financial results are down compared to the same period in 2021 as a result of the alarming increase in electricity and natural gas prices. It is now essential to have the same economic environment as our major European and global competitors, who benefit from much better prices for basic resources. In this way, their products are cheaper and invade the market of Romania and the surrounding countries. This leads to an even bigger deficit in Romania’s trade balance. In this context, the downward trend of our financial results will continue in the second semester of 2022. Like other companies in the industry, we need the intervention of the state to amortize the increased prices for gas and electricity before taking into account the reorganization of production and the optimization of the organizational structure,” said company representatives.

The impact of unprecedented inflationary pressures on margin development was limited through cost control and operational efficiency. At the same time, the investments behind the capital expenditures have increased significantly – the reintegration of the factories on the Oltchim platform (acquisition of the shares of Sistemplast and CET Govora).

Against this background, in the first 6 months of this year, Chimcomplex recorded a consistent level of EBITDA, namely 232 million lei (47 million euro and 19% of turnover).

“2022 continues to present a huge challenge for us, we remain under price pressure and will adjust our production according to the macroeconomic and geopolitical context. The volatile energy market is of major concern to us, which is why we are using what financial strength we have left to invest in energy independence. We have three ongoing investment projects: a 49 MW high-efficiency cogeneration plant, an 8 MW high-efficiency trigeneration plant, and energy consumption monitoring. Also in line with strategic values ​​and priorities, Chimcomplex will continue to actively support the transition to circular green chemistry, hydrogen and technological and energy efficiency,” added company representatives.