Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding Company (MPHC), one of the region’s premier diversified petrochemical conglomerates, reported a net profit of QR305m for the half year ended June 2019 (H1, 19). The first half net profit for 2019 is down by 54 percent of QR361m compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. MPHC’s earnings per share stood at QR0.024 for the first half of 2019 vs QR0.053 in first half of 2018, taking into effect the stock split transaction mandated by Qatar Financial Markets Authority.
The decrease in MPHC’s profit for H1, 19 was due to reduction in selling prices in line with the drop in crude oil prices at the end of 2018. The group continued to benefit from the supply of competitively priced ethane feedstock and fuel gas under long-term supply agreements. These contracting arrangements are an important value driver for the group’s profitability in a competitive market environment.
The petrochemical segment’s revenue for the six months stood at QR1.2bn, a decrease of 13 percent from previous year. The profit was QR379m compared to the profit in the corresponding period in the previous year of QR524m. The revenue was impacted by the drop in selling prices compared to the previous year and the profit was impacted by higher operating costs. Production was down by 3 percent on the previous year and sales volumes were marginally up by 1 percent on the previous year. The chlor-alkali segment reported revenue of QR353m, a decrease of 14 percent from previous year.
The profit was QR73m compared to the profit in the corresponding period in the previous year of QR65m.
Sales revenue was impacted by the decrease in sales volumes by 2 percent and decrease in selling prices by 12 percent. Production was lower by 5 percent from the previous year. The profit improved on previous year primarily due to the reduction in operating costs.
The MPHC’s closing cash position after the first six months of operations in 2019 was a robust QR1.4bn. Total assets stood at QR14.6bn, compared to QR15.3bn as of at 31 December 2018.
