Obbligazioni societarie Monitor bond Chimica Europa (1 Viewer)

Imark

Forumer storico
Doppio downgrade di Moody's e di S&P su Cognis. La contrazione dell'EBITDA si traduce in un deterioramento della metrica finanziaria, con l'indebolimento dei parametri riguardanti la tutela dei creditori: il leverage a marzo 2009 (valutato sui 12 mesi) è stimato da Moody's a 9x, mentre l'EBITDA/interest (sempre sulla stessa base cronologica) si riduce a 1,2x.

Nei sei mesi a venire, l'agenzia si attende un ulteriore peggioramento dei parametri indicati ed è critica anche verso la decisione di Cognis di riacquistare sul mercato debito PIK anziché estinguere debito senior: l'operazione consente di realizzare un profitto superiore, ma ha ridotta efficacia sui rating.

In un contesto problematico, resta la considerazione per cui presumibilmente il bottom del ciclo produttivo per Cognis dovrebbe essere stato fatto appunto nel Q1/2009 e successivamente la società dovrebbe potersi giovare di una ripresa degli ordini e di una riduzione dei costi di materie prime, sebbene la recente ripresa dei corsi di alcuni petrolchimici rischi di comprimere la capacità di generazione di cash flow nel secondo semestre 2009 e in parte del 2010.

Gioca invece un ruolo favorevole nel sostenere il rating la forte posizione di liquidità disponibile presso Cognis al 31/03/2009; in prospettiva, la capacità di controllare la struttura dei costi ed il consumo di cash, così da evitare un accrescimento dei livelli di debito e da conservare la posizione di liquidità disponibile saranno centrali nella valutazione del rating.

Moody's downgrades Cognis to B3. Outlook stable.


Frankfurt, June 17, 2009 -- Moody's Investors Services has today downgraded the probability of default and corporate family ratings of Cognis GmbH to B3 from B2. The outlook is stable.


The downgrade was prompted by a deterioration of the credit profile of Cognis GmbH over the last twelve months to 31st March 2009 with Debt / EBITDA estimated by Moody's to have reached a level of around 9.0x and EBITDA / Interest to have dropped to approximately 1.2x on an LTM Q1 2009 basis (6.0x and 2.2x respectively at 31st December 2007), metrics which are not commensurate with our B2 rating category anymore.

The deterioration in the credit profile of Cognis was linked to a weakening operating performance on the back of difficult market conditions in Q4 2008 and Q1 2009.

The agency also notes that Cognis GmbH has used approximately 20% of the EUR 127million proceeds (as of 31st March 2009) from the sale of Oleochemicals and Pulcra Chemicals to buyback PIKs in open market transactions thereby upstreaming cash outside of the rated group rather than repay senior debt which would have helped stabilize the credit profile of the rated group.

Moody's expects debt and cash flow metrics to further deteriorate over the next six months at least as Cognis will face challenging comparatives from previous year while the issuer should be able to improve operating performance and cash flow generation on a sequential basis from a likely bottom reached in Q1 2009 helped by slightly improved demand patterns and lower raw material costs as all legacy raw materials will have flown through the supply chain.

Medium term, Moody's flags that both lauric oil and some of the petrochemicals prices have risen sharply since bottoming out in the first quarter of the year, which might pressure the cash flow generation of the group through higher working capital requirements in the second half of the year and into fiscal year 2010.

The rating of Cognis remains strongly supported by the group's sound liquidity profile, the relative defensiveness of its business portfolio with a clear focus on consumer and health & nutrition chemicals and the management's efforts to align the group's cost base to a weaker operating environment.

The stable outlook assigned to the ratings reflects the agency's expectation that Cognis should be able to stabilize its operating performance on a sequential basis supported by easing destocking patterns throughout the chemicals value chain and its end-industries.

The agency also expects Cognis to continue focusing on adjusting its cost base and managing its cash outflows for working capital and capital expenditures in order to avoid a build up in debt and to protect its strong liquidity position.

Moody's will continue to closely monitor the operating performance of Cognis in the short term. Failure to stabilize the operating performance of the group and to control cash consumption in order to maintain stable debt levels and a strong liquidity position would lead to further negative pressure on the ratings.

The agency will also closely survey the group's ability to cover cash interest expense from reported funds from operations as an indicator of the group's ability to service its debt. Failure to maintain reported FFO / Cash Interest expense sustainably above 2.0x would lead to negative rating pressure.

The liquidity position of Cognis is strong. The issuer had EUR 241million of cash & cash equivalents on balance sheet at 31st March 2009 and access to a largely undrawn EUR 250million revolver (EUR 219million undrawn at 31st March 2009).

In addition Cognis faces no major maturities over the next twelve months and benefits from very substantial headroom under its financial covenant.

While Moody's expects that operating cash flows might not cover all capex and working capital requirements over the next twelve months as demand levels remain subdued and recent increases in raw material prices will make it difficult for Cognis to extract further cash inflows from working capital during the second half of the year, we remain confident that the group's focus on reducing costs and controlling free cash flow generation should help the issuer protecting its cash and liquidity position during this period of difficult market conditions.

The following ratings of Cognis GmbH were affected by today's action:
- Corporate Family Rating downgraded to B3;
- Probability of Default Rating downgraded to B3;
- Senior secured 2014 notes downgraded to Caa2 / LGD 5
- Senior secured floating rate notes and loans due 2013 downgraded to B2 / LGD3
- Revolving credit facility downgraded to Ba3 / LGD1

Moody's does not rate senior PIK notes at Cognis Holding GmbH.
The last rating action was on 13 June 2008, when the outlook on Cognis GmbH was changed to negative from stable.
...
Cognis GmbH, headquartered in Monheim, Germany, is a global specialty chemicals producer with leading market positions in natural-oil based chemicals. Cognis reported revenues of EUR3,001 million and a recurring EBITDA of EUR351 million for the fiscal year ended 31st December 2008
 

Imark

Forumer storico
Le motivazioni di S&P nel downgrade di Cognis ... molto più accurata la disamina di Moody's, e qui metterei in risalto la valutazione di S&P in ordine ad un'accresciuta possibilità di ristrutturazione del debito prima del 2013...

Cognis GmbH Rating Lowered To 'B-' On Likely Further Weakening Credit Metrics; Outlook Negative

-- Substantially lower sales volumes in 2009 and the risk of deteriorating selling prices could put pressure on Cognis's profitability and cash flow generation.
-- We are lowering the long-term rating on Cognis GmbH to 'B-' from 'B'.
-- The outlook is negative, reflecting our view that there is a risk that the company's high leverage could further increase, making it highly challenging to refinance its debt maturities in 2013.

FRANKFURT (Standard & Poor's) June 16, 2009--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today it lowered its long-term corporate credit rating on Germany-based specialty chemicals producer Cognis GmbH to 'B-' from 'B'.

The outlook is negative. "The downgrade reflects our view that Cognis' profitability may weaken in 2009 and beyond as a result of significantly lower selling volumes," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Tobias Mock.

In the first quarter of 2009, Cognis reported an 18% fall in sales volumes across its portfolio year on year. This was close to the average decline reported by rated European chemical producers, despite its stable homecare and personal care end markets and good geographic diversification.

Cognis' sales volumes were also likely affected by customers' destocking activities. We have revised our assessment of Cognis' business risk profile to "fair" from "satisfactory", given the sensitivity of its businesses to markets affected by the economic downturn and our expectation that the company will experience only a moderate recovery in the coming years.

Sales in Cognis' fatty alcohols, silicates, polymers, coatings and inks, and synthetic lubricants businesses decreased sharply because of their exposure to the engineering, automotive, and housing sectors.

Only the pharma and agrosolutions businesses managed a favorable sales development in first-quarter 2009. We expect the decline in volumes to ease in the course of 2009, but to remain substantial for the full year, with only a moderate recovery in 2010 and therefore continuously low capacity utilization.

Cognis managed to maintain its selling prices across its portfolio in the first quarter of 2009. However, we expect pricing power to weaken during 2009 owing to lower selling volumes and lower raw material costs.

"The negative outlook on Cognis reflects the risk, in our view, that its profitability could weaken materially as a result of significantly lower sales volumes and falling selling prices in 2009," said Mr. Mock.

"A further increase in Cognis' already highly leveraged capital structure or weakening of its liquidity would likely result in a downgrade. In addition, the risk of a debt restructuring before the refinancing in 2013 is increasing, in our view."
 

Imark

Forumer storico
Moody's ha risolto con un downgrade il creditwatch negativo su Solvay, conservandola inoltre in outlook negativo. Il leitmotive è sempre quello della ciclicità del comparto chimico e quindi della debolezza della divisione di Solvay che se ne occupa, laddove la divisione che si occupa del farmaceutico funge da elemento stabilizzante nel contesto del business profile della società.

Moody's tratteggia le vicende recenti, con una serie di acquisizioni finanziate a debito e un accrescimento del capex mirati a rafforzare la presenza di Solvay sui mercati emergenti, con il risultato di un leverage salito dal 2007 a fine 2008 da 1,6x a 2,3x.

La reazione al calo della domanda accentuatosi nel post Lehman è consistita in un taglio del capex per il 2009 e nell'attestazione di una "flessibilità" nel modulare gli investimenti pianificati per la crescita dimensionale negli anni a venire. Una recente ristrutturazione mirata ad un ulteriore efficientamento dei costi per le attività di chimica delle commodities e di produzione di materie plastiche dovrebbe rendere non necessari ulteriori interventi in tale direzione nel futuro prossimo.

In prospettiva, il recupero di un migliore profilo di rischio finanziario per Solvay passa per tramite di un ritorno della società ad una situazione che la veda free cash flow positive (dopo il pagamento dei dividendi) e ad un miglioramento della copertura del debito da parte dei flussi di cassa generati, con un rapporto del RCP/net debt superiore al 30%.

Ci vorrà tuttavia del tempo prima che una tale prospettiva possa concretizzarsi, e l'outlook negativo è dovuto al rischio che nei prossimi 12-18 mesi possa protrarsi l'attuale situazione di debolezza.

Forte la posizione di liquidità di Solvay, a maggior raggione se valutata in considerazione dell'assenza di scadenze debitorie fino al 2014.

Moody's downgrades Solvay to A3/P-2 with negative outlook.

London, 16 June 2009 -- Moody's Investors Services has today downgraded ratings for senior unsecured debt of Solvay SA (Solvay) and its guaranteed subsidiaries by one notch to A3/P2 and the rating on its deeply subordinated notes raised at Solvay Finance S.A. to Baa2. The outlook is negative.

The rating action reflects Moody's expectation that weak demand in the chemical markets will continue to challenge the company's financial profile.

In particular, current market conditions are likely to continue to restrain profitability of the Plastics and Chemicals divisions, notwithstanding the contribution of the new capacities in hydrogen peroxide in Europe and PVC in several emerging markets. During the downturn, continuous profitable growth in the Pharma division should mitigate expected earnings volatility in the Chemicals and Plastics divisions and support the credit profile of the company.

During the cyclical up turn in the markets, Solvay made several debt-funded acquisitions to complement its growth strategy, supported in-part by disposals, and has also accelerated its targeted CAPEX programme to strengthen the company's presence in high-growth emerging markets that resulted in an increase in debt levels with Net Debt/EBITDA reported at 2.3x at the end of 2008 (1.6x times in 2007).

In response to the decline in demand, Solvay exercised substantial reduction in its CAPEX budget for the current year and retains flexibility in managing its growth investments in the medium future. Moody's also notes that prior to the downturn, the company had executed a comprehensive restructuring that underpins its cost leadership in commodity chemicals and plastics and should also limit the need for additional substantial restructuring measures in the near term.

Solvay's A3/Prime-2 senior unsecured ratings are positioned to accommodate the long-term growth strategy of the company and reflect Solvay's conservative balance sheet management to date and favorable market standing that should benefit from the economic recovery, particularly in emerging markets.

The rating is supported by a lower business risk assessment of the Pharma operations that are seen to provide a degree of underpinning to the credit profile of the company through the cycle. Looking towards a recovery, Moody's expects that cash flow debt coverage would improve with the Retained Cash Flow to Net Debt metric sustainably positioned in the low to mid thirties, while the company will become FCF positive (after dividend payments).

The negative outlook reflects Moody's concerns over the timing of a recovery in the financial profile in the next 12-18 months, noting that the company's cash flow generation is likely to remain relatively weak at the low point of the cyclical downturn, while Solvay actively pursue operational measures to further limit the effect of the economic downturn.

The negative outlook also reflects the overhand of uncertainty regarding the business strategy of the group, reflected in the on-going strategic review of its Pharma operations.

Solvay's liquidity position remains very strong. At the end March 2009, Solvay reported EUR 687 million in cash and maintains full availability under its credit facilities (EUR 850 million facility maturing in October 2011 and EUR 400 million facility maturing in January 2013 and about EUR 600 million of bilateral credit facilities). The company further advises that it has not seen any deterioration in the quality of its receivables and maintains its focus on improving its working capital management, as well as cash preservation in the difficult operating environment. The company does not face significant debt maturities before 2014.

Moody's last rating action on Solvay was on 3 April 2009, when the rating agency placed its A2/P-1 ratings under review for downgrade. This rating action concludes the review.

.....

Based in Brussels, Solvay S.A. (Solvay) is an international chemicals and pharmaceuticals group. In 2008, Solvay generated consolidated sales of about EUR 9.5 billion
 

lorenzo63

Age quod Agis
INEOS in talks about 'growth' at Grangemouth refinery

INEOS is talking to potential investors in its refinery and petrochemical complex in Grangemouth, Scotland, the company confirmed on Friday.

China’s largest oil and gas company, PetroChina, was said to be in talks with the refining and petrochemical group, according to a Grangemouth local government official, cited in the UK’s Financial Times.

INEOS would not confirm those talks but a spokesman said the company was in discussion with a number of potential partners about “growth opportunities” at the site.

“These preliminary discussions are exploratory and may or may not lead to investment in Grangemouth,” he added. “The Grangemouth petrochemical and refining complex continues to be a core part of the INEOS Group and the company remains committed to the long-term development of the site, " he said.

PetroChina said in late May it would it would buy 45.51% of Singapore oil company SPC for about Singapore dollar (S$)1.47bn ($1.01bn).

The company also plans to buy two pipelines in western China from its state-owned parent for $1.42bn (€1.02bn).

An investment in the UK could help underpin its trading activities in Europe.

The 210,000 bbl/day Grangemouth refinery produces 9m litres of ‘clean’ fuel and is a key strategic asset, according to UK-based INEOS. The future of the complex has been under review, however, alongside all other INEOS production sites and businesses.

“What we are trying to do is protect the long term growth of the business and its sites,” the INEOS spokesman said.
 

lorenzo63

Age quod Agis
Il Benzene stante la sua peculiarità di essere precursore di molteplici prodotti di sintesi, a livello di prezzo funge assieme a qualche altro prodotto,come prezzo "driver" per l' industria chimica..


15 June 2009 06:25

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Asia’s benzene values are expected to remain stable or cross the $800/tonne(€568/tonne) mark in the near term, supported by the current strength in crude prices and stronger market fundamentals, traders and producers said on Monday.

“As long as crude is strong, benzene has more room to increase,” a Korean producer said.

It was likely for benzene prices to remain at or above $800/tonne FOB (free on board) Korea in the coming weeks, a Korean trader added.

These sentiments were echoed by a number of other regional traders and producers, who felt that the sudden bullishness in benzene last week was driven mainly by the rally in crude values to $72/bbl.

Benzene prices gained $95/tonne week-on-week to $780-790/tonne FOB Korea last Friday, according to global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing.

This was the highest seen since mid-October 2008 when prices crashed from above $1,000/tonne FOB Korea to about $350/tonne FOB Korea within few weeks.

But some traders and producers also believed that last week’s uptrend was not supported by sentiment alone and that stronger market fundamentals had contributed to the increases.

Regional supply levels, which had been surplus last month, had improved in the past weeks due to a heavy outflow of arbitrage cargoes from Asia to the United States.

Nearly 100,000 tonnes of benzene would be shipped in June and July from Asia to the US and Europe, they said.

“There was some surplus earlier but after the fixing of arb [arbitrage] to other regions, the market will be more balanced,” a key Korean producer said.

Demand from the key downstream styrene monomer (SM) market had also seen some improvements in the past two weeks and was now stable. Some Japanese SM producers were in the market last week looking for benzene, which had also helped to balance benzene in this region, traders and producers said.

This was largely due to a positive turn in the outlook for derivatives styrenics, which was earlier predicted to be dim in third quarter of this year, traders and producers added.

But a section of the market remained sceptical about the sustainability of the sudden price hike of benzene going into July.

“Benzene balance is a bit tight in northeast and southeast Asia but I am not sure whether it’s enough to justify the spurt, so who knows,” said a Singapore-based trader.

“I feel that benzene will lose about 10-15% of its value in July and August as I am not sure SM demand will be stable or not,” said a Japanese trader
.

Asia is a net exporter of benzene to the US mainly, on spot and contract basis.

About 50% of Asia’s benzene is used for SM production.
 

lorenzo63

Age quod Agis
Sabic: verticalizzazione

29 May 2009 00:00 [Source: ICB]

With resins giant SABIC and major distributor Ashland joining forces, the North American plastics industry may be in for a big change

BACK WHEN SABIC Innovative Plastics (IP) was GE Plastics, the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, US-based firm had its own large distribution force for a while - Polymerland.

Established in 1991, Polymerland was phased out in 2005, with GE Plastics admitting that its attempts to streamline the supply chain actually caused it to lose contact with the needs of its customers. After 2005, GE Plastics used other distributors, including Modern Plastics of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

When Saudi Arabia's SABIC bought GE Plastics in 2007 from General Electric for $11.6bn (€8.53bn), the acquired company had 80 locations in 21 countries where polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and other thermoplastic sheets and resins are produced.

In late March, SABIC IP established an alliance with US-based Ashland Distribution to distribute its engineering resins. An industry observer commented that SABIC IP spent about a year searching for a suitable large-scale distribution partner.

Ashland Distribution distributes chemicals, plastics and composite raw materials in North America, and plastics in Europe. The company makes its American deliveries through a network of 60 owned or leased facilities, 70 third-party warehouses, as well as rail and tank terminals. In Europe, Ashland distributes plastics to 18 countries. For fiscal 2008 (ended September 30), the company had sales of $4.37bn, up from $4.03bn in 2007.

"This is a great opportunity for SABIC IP to team up with a strong distribution company that has a large commercial reach and the most extensive service capability in North America," says Tim O'Brien, vice president, SABIC IP, Americas & Europe.

"The synergies are obvious around why this agreement makes sense for our customers: SABIC brings a broad portfolio of products and innovations, and we bring world-class logistics and sale and service capabilities, and the two companies are working together to leverage the strength of each organization, as we do with all our key supply relationships," notes Robert Craycraft, president of Ashland Distribution.

"The opportunity for Ashland Distribution to provide SABIC IP products to our customers provides a top-tier level of production and the opportunity to position our customers toward greater efficiencies."

The deal is highly complementary to both companies, and gives SABIC IP excellent US market access, notes Andrew Swanson, vice president, chemicals - Americas and Asia, for global consultancy Nexant. "And credibility, too," he adds.

"SABIC IP is certainly more of a competitor now in the North American plastics industry - it has locked up a particularly critical channel to market."

For Ashland, the benefits include being well supplied with product from a very large player, as well as its connection to the Middle East. There is a great deal of capacity coming on in the Middle East and China, "so there could be further deals done to facilitate the flow of product," says Swanson.

SABIC IP and Ashland's alliance will more than likely impact the plastics market, say market observers, but "we have yet to see that play out - it's still in the early days," says a source at a US-based plastic resins supplier.

"This is a bold move from both companies and, if they don't play it right, there could be some consequences."

SABIC'S STRONG MOVES

One result of the Ashland-SABIC deal has been the severing of Ashland's distribution deals with other manufacturers. UK-based petrochemical and plastics firm INEOS has switched to PolyOne as its distributor for ABS as of June, and Germany's Bayer MaterialScience dropped Ashland as its PC distributor in April. However, the company will continue to use Ashland as distributor of its thermoplastic polyurethane (PU) resins.

"It was agreed upon by both Ashland and Bayer MaterialScience to dissolve the distribution agreement for PC products," says Bill Allan, communications director for Bayer MaterialScience. Bayer has since signed a supply agreement with US-based plastic resins distributor M. Holland to distribute these products.

Regarding the companies that have dissolved relations with Ashland, Swanson says: "It would be a commercially uncomfortable situation to have a distributor linked to such a large competitor."

One industry source says the deal between Ashland and SABIC IP required an exclusive commitment by the distributor to represent SABIC IP on some specific products.

SABIC has big ambitions in the global petrochemical and plastics industry and sees itself as a major driver of industry restructuring. During the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) 34th International Petrochemical Conference last March, SABIC vice chairman and CEO Mohamed al-Mady said his company would expand its position. "We plan to restructure the global petrochemical industry," he said.

SABIC expanded into Europe via its acquisition of Netherlands-based DSM and Huntsman of the US's petrochemical units there, and into the US with the purchase of GE Plastics. SABIC's sales in 2008 totaled Saudi riyals 152.4bn ($40.6bn). The company does not offer breakouts of sales for any of its divisions, but before it was acquired, GE Plastics had 2006 sales of $6.7bn.

O'Brien notes that "2009 is, and will be a tough year for most people in the plastics business," but that as the supply chain burns through inventory, each month continues to improve.

"SABIC will continue to play offense in this difficult cycle and expects to come out of the cycle stronger," says O'Brien. "The decision to move forward with Ashland is consistent with that strategy."

NORTH AMERICAN PLASTICS OUTLOOK

In North America, plastics demand is off, says Allan, "which mirrors what we are seeing in most of the industry's major markets, such as automotive, construction and durable consumer goods."

However, there may be signs of stability, according to Ashland Distribution's Craycraft. "Although sales slowed considerably in late 2008, there's some steadying to that market at present," he says. "We would expect continued stabilization and are hopeful for a slight upswing later this year or early next."

In the last cycle, specialty chemical margins recovered quickly, helped by inventory destocking and falling raw material costs. However, points out Laurence Alexander, analyst for US-based investment firm Jefferies & Company, commodity chemicals took longer to recover.

"We expect a similar pattern to play out this cycle, with the lag in the recovery in commodity chemical margins likely exacerbated by new capacity additions in the Middle East and China," says Alexander.

Some sectors of the North American plastics industry are likely to see a healthy return to business, notes Swanson.

"Resins used in packaging will see a quite sharp recovery," he says. "They will tend to follow recovery in personal consumption expenditure and GDP." Nexant expects this to begin to occur around the second half of 2009.

But other sectors, like automotive and construction, will not be taking off soon. For these, "there is likely to be a longer, more muted recovery - which will impact the chemical industry," says Swanson. He warns that the industry may be seeing more rationalizations, especially with more capacity in Saudi Arabia and China starting up within the next 18 months, "which will prolong these woes in the chemical industry beyond the general economic recovery."

The continued shifting of polymer processing to areas with either low raw material or labor costs will further impact the industry. "We've seen that in the offshoring of a significant amount of North American manufacture, and I do not see that trend reversing any time soon," says Swanson
 

lorenzo63

Age quod Agis
Akzo

Akzo Nobel: AkzoNobel To Sell Stake In Pakistan PTA Activities


PTA: Acido Tereftalico. Serve per produzione fibre poliesteri, quindi tessuti, PET per bottiglie packaging...se ne deduce che il settore è "maturo" e non piu' remunerativo perlomeno nn nei termini a budget di Akzo..quindi fare un po' di cassa che di questi tempi ...

AkzoNobel has agreed to divest its 75 percent stake in the PTA
activities of its Chemicals Pakistan business to Korean company KP
Chemical Corporation (KPC). Financial details were not disclosed.
The holding in Pakistan PTA Limited - which is listed on the Karachi
Stock Exchange - was acquired by AkzoNobel in 2008 as part of the
acquisition of ICI. The company has a site in Karachi and around 200
employees. The transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth
quarter of 2009.
"In spite of good performance and a dedicated team, the PTA
activities and its future requirements do not fit with AkzoNobel's
strategic priorities," explained Rob Frohn, the AkzoNobel Board
member responsible for Specialty Chemicals. "KP Chemical - who are
looking to expand their PTA capacity and geographic reach - will be a
better match for the business going forward."
= - -
AkzoNobel is proud to be one of the world's leading industrial
companies. Based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, we make and supply a
wide range of paints, coatings and specialty chemicals - 2008 revenue
totaled EUR15.4 billion. In fact, we are the largest global paints and
coatings company. As a major producer of specialty chemicals we
supply industries worldwide with quality ingredients for life's
essentials. We think about the future, but act in the present. We're
passionate about introducing new ideas and developing sustainable
answers for our customers. That's why our 60,000 employees - who are
based in more than 80 countries - are committed to excellence and
delivering Tomorrow's Answers Today(TM).
 

lorenzo63

Age quod Agis
Sempre Akzo.....

AkzoNobel's Final Offer For Dutch Labor Agreement Rejected

Problemi sindacali......

AMSTERDAM (Dow Jones)--AkzoNobel NV (AKZA.AE) Tuesday said the 4th round of consultation aimed at a new collective labor agreement (CAO) for AkzoNobel in the Netherlands has not yet reached agreement. At the request of the trade unions, AkzoNobel formulated a final offer which was then immediately rejected.

In view of the uncertain economic situation, the duration of the collective bargaining agreement would be limited to one year. In addition to the section on wages, the offer from AkzoNobel consists of an extensive list of proposals that could lead to a new collective labor agreement for the around 5,000 AkzoNobel employees in the Netherlands:

A structural wages increase from July 1, 2009 of 0.5%
Measures in the context of social innovation: the creation of jobs for young disabled people, the launch of work experience places, arrangements for teleworking, pilots for lightening shift working, especially for older employees, extended periodic occupational health examinations (PAGO+) for everyone.
The use of the pension contributions of active employees for indexing their own pension entitlements.
A working party for modernizing the collective bargaining agreement
A working party for revising the social rules for reorganizations
Payment of the Return to Work Regulations (WGA) premium for employees until January 1, 2010
Revising the traveling expenses scheme for commuting such that there is a better relationship with the actual number of kilometers traveled
Revision of the results-related (EVA) payment to produce a more transparent system: EBITDA arrangement for 2009 and a working party for the period from 2010 onwards. The trade unions will use the coming period to present the AkzoNobel offer to their members
 

lorenzo63

Age quod Agis
Program For The Publication Of Yara International's Second Quarter Results 2009

Mi ricordo che a qualcuno :D:D interessava...

Yara International ASA's second quarter 2009 results will be released
on Thursday 16 July 2009. The results will be available at
www.yara.com and in the reception at Bygd??y alle 2, Oslo from 08:00
CEST.
The results will be presented at 09:30 CEST by President and CEO
J??rgen Ole Haslestad and CFO Egil Hogna. The presentation will take
place in the Auditorium in Bygd??y alle 2 and will be webcast at
www.yara.com. The presentation will be held in English.
There will also be an English conference call in the afternoon with
an opportunity to ask questions to Yara's CEO and CFO at 16:00 CEST
the same day.
European dial-in number +44 20 7162 0025
US dial-in number +1 334 323 6201
Up to two weeks after the call, you may listen to the replay by
calling:
+44 20 7031 4064, code 839572 or
+1 954 334 0342, code 839572 or
+47 21 50 12 92
A replay of the web cast will be available at www.yara.com.
If you wish to participate in the presentation in Oslo, please
confirm with an e-mail to [email protected] before 15 July 2009.
If you wish to be deleted from our invitation/mailing lists or if you
have a colleague who would like to be on our lists, please inform us
via e-mail to the same address.
Yours faithfully
for Yara International ASA
Torgeir Kvidal
Senior Vice President Investor Relations
(sign.)
This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is
solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
 

qquebec

Super Moderator
Ineos + 30%

INEOS Group Holdings PLC ("the Group") confirms that the Sounding Group of lenders has agreed to support a package of proposed amendments to the company's financing arrangements, which has now been posted to senior lenders as a consent request.

In January 2009 INEOS announced that a group of lenders (“the Sounding Group”) had been formed in order to consider the company’s financing arrangements and 5-year business plan, as reviewed by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Chemical Market Associates Inc. INEOS is now pleased to announce that the Sounding Group, advised by Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin (Europe) Limited and Deloitte LLP, has unanimously agreed to support a package of amendments to the Group’s financing arrangements, including a reset of the company's financial covenants and a number of concessions and incentives to lenders. These proposed changes constitute the consent request that has now been posted to all senior lenders.

INEOS believes that the proposed package of amendments provides a solid foundation for the Group to address current market conditions and focus on the implementation of its long-term strategy.

Key highlights of the consent request include:

  • Reset of the Leverage, Interest Cover and Debt Service Cover covenant levels, effective from September 2009;

  • Enhanced lender remuneration comprising a consent fee, increase in interest margin and a EURIBOR floor; and

  • A number of other amendments and concessions, including those requested by the Company and by lenders following detailed discussions with the Sounding Group.

Lenders are being asked to vote on the request by 15th July.

John Reece, CFO INEOS said today:

“INEOS is a business that has always planned for bottom-of-the cycle trading conditions; we remain EBITDA positive and cash generative and the business is tracking ahead of plan for the first 5 months of this year. Following completion of this process we will be well positioned to execute on our current strategy.”

Current trading:

The current trading performance of the Group continues to show an improving trend from the lows experienced at the start of the year. Replacement cost (“RC”) EBITDA for April and May 2009 was €65 million and €79 million respectively. Year To Date RC EBITDA for the first 5 months of 2009 was €314 million, which was some 8% ahead of plan. As at 31 May 2009 gross cash balances amounted to € 604 million.

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