LyondellBasell Industries announced net income for the first quarter 2022 of $1.3 billion, or $4.00 per share. First quarter 2022 EBITDA was $2.0 billion.

 

"LyondellBasell's results reflect robust demand across our portfolio and exceptionally strong first quarter margins from our Intermediates & Derivatives segment," said Ken Lane, LyondellBasell Interim Chief Executive Officer.

 

"Our team reversed fourth quarter trends and achieved price increases for polyethylene and polypropylene during the first quarter while rapidly rising feedstock and energy costs compressed olefins and polyolefins margins in the Americas. European demand for polymers remained solid despite ongoing challenges from the war in Ukraine. Excluding planned maintenance, we operated our European ethylene crackers at 85 percent of capacity during the quarter. We restarted our ethylene cracker in La Porte, Texas ahead of schedule in March after completing a major planned maintenance turnaround. In our oxyfuels and refining businesses, increasing demand for transportation fuels and higher prices for gasoline and diesel drove exceptional first quarter profitability.  Advanced Polymer Solutions profitability increased due to higher volumes and margins as automotive demand improved from the fourth quarter."     

 

"Our business continued to generate substantial cash during the quarter with $1.5 billion in cash from operating activities. We maintained our disciplined and balanced approach to capital allocation. We reinvested more than $400 million of capital in the business and delivered nearly $600 million to shareholders through our quarterly dividend and the repurchase of 2.1 million shares."

 

"In April, we published our Annual Sustainability Report and reaffirmed our commitments to help address the global challenges of climate change and plastic waste. We are focused on our ambitious target of producing 2 million tons of recycled and renewable-based polymers annually by 2030 and developing scalable business platforms to drive our success. We launched several collaborations around our Circulen products to develop paint containers for Nippon Paint, cosmetic packaging for L'Occitane and cups for Wendy's and McDonald's. LyondellBasell is moving forward on our strategy to deliver sustainable value for customers and shareholders over the coming years," Lane said. 

 

"We expect typical improvements in summer seasonal demand will extend market strength for LyondellBasell's products as the global economy continues to navigate geopolitical uncertainty and volatile costs for energy and feedstocks. Outside of China, we anticipate benefits from continued demand for consumer packaging, improving volumes for automotive polymer compounds, seasonal demand for durable goods used in building and construction markets, as well as strong markets for our oxyfuels products. We forecast a favorable outlook for our refining segment as we work toward exiting the business by the end of next year. In the second quarter, LyondellBasell's margins are likely to improve as the prices for our products catch up with increased feedstock and energy costs. Additionally, we expect reductions in European and Asian industry operating rates driven by maintenance downtime in Europe and unsustainable production economics in China to tighten market supply over the coming months. We continue monitoring risks on supply chains and inflation." 

 

"LyondellBasell's step change in earnings and cash flow is based on robust markets and the growth in our asset base since 2018. With our well-positioned asset portfolio, we expect cash generation will continue to provide significant returns for shareholders. LyondellBasell is making prudent investments and collaborating with industry leaders, brand owners and communities to reduce CO2 emissions and leading on the development of circular plastics."

 

"Finally, we look forward to Peter Vanacker extending our rich legacy of leadership in safety, operational excellence, innovation and capital discipline as he joins LyondellBasell as our next CEO on May 23rd," said Lane.