Obbligazioni societarie Monitor bond Chimica Europa

[lorenzo63]

Dow Chemical to Shut 3 Plants

Dow Chemical Co. said Wednesday that it is shutting three Louisiana plants that make basic chemicals in an effort to cut costs and to focus on higher-margin products.

The shutdowns, which will eliminate 100 employee positions, are part of the cost-savings plan Dow adopted after its $16.3 billion purchase of rival Rohm & Haas Co. earlier this year. Dow said the plant closings will save $100 million a year and eliminate the company's need to buy ethylene, which these plants use to produce commodity chemicals that go into PVC pipes, vinyl siding and engine coolants.

The Midland, Mich., chemical giant also said it will record second-quarter charges of about $700 million related to the closed plants, as well as 2,500 previously announced job cuts and an expected loss from asset sales required by regulators for the approval of the Rohm & Haas deal

The company's shares fell 16 cents to $15.98 in 4 p.m. composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

For the past few years, Dow has been trying to shift its focus from low-margin commodity chemicals to high-tech, specialized materials such as the ones made by Rohm & Haas. Last April, Dow took on a heavy debt load to buy the Philadelphia-based company, a deal it hailed as a major step forward in that strategy.

In recent months, Dow has sold assets and issued equity to pare down that debt. Like other chemical makers, it has also ratcheted back production to deal with one of the worst slumps in the chemical business in decades.

Dow said it plans to redeploy most of the workers whose jobs are being eliminated

 

[lorenzo63]

Monsanto to Restructure Herbicide Unit, as Profit Drops 14%

Monsanto Co. announced plans to restructure its crop-protection business, which has been hit hard by intensifying competition from generic rivals.

The agribusiness giant, posting a 14% drop in quarterly earnings, also announced plans to shed 900 jobs companywide, or about 4% of its work force.

Monsanto, the world's largest seed company by revenue, said it expects profit from the Roundup herbicide unit to drop by half in the fiscal year through August next year from its recent peak of $2 billion. The company maintained its long-term earnings' targets, however.

Monsanto has diversified over the past decade from herbicides like Roundup that once accounted for the bulk of its sales, introducing high-margin seeds for crops like corn and soybeans that boost yield for farmers.

Hugh Grant, Monsanto's chairman and chief executive, said there are no immediate plans to dispose of Roundup and associated businesses, which are being turned into a stand-alone herbicide-and-nutrients unit under a single boss, following a sharp drop in revenue. The operation currently is run by regional heads.

"We are fighting a significant onslaught of generic material," Mr. Grant said on a conference call Wednesday after the company reported results for its fiscal third quarter.

Monsanto executives have expressed surprise at the deterioration in the herbicide market, citing in particular a surge in production by Chinese rivals of low-price generic versions of Roundup.

Mr. Grant has steered Monsanto toward a dominant position in high-tech seeds, using what he once described as "windfall" profit from Roundup in recent years to expand through acquisitions into cotton and vegetable seeds.

The restructuring move fueled speculation among some analysts that Monsanto may divest all or part of the herbicide operation in a bid to become a pure-play agribusiness.

But Mr. Grant played down any short-term move, saying the focus is stabilizing a business whose performance had become a distraction. He said, though, that he would "never say never" about selling the unit. The herbicide business accounted for 44% of revenue and 38% of gross profit in fiscal 2008, proportions that are expected to fall over the next three years.

Roundup sales dropped 47% in the fiscal third quarter, which ended May 31. The St. Louis company forecast that gross profit of about $1 billion in fiscal 2010 could lead company earnings to be flat or even down. But Monsanto expects new seed products to offset the decline and maintained its goal of doubling gross profit for the company between 2007 and 2012.

While European governments continue to resist use of Monsanto's genetically modified seeds, the company has increased its penetration in North and South America and Asia, introducing higher-margin products that provide resistance against pests and weeds.

Mr. Grant said Monsanto remains on the lookout for acquisitions and has examined part of the seeds business targeted for sale by Dow Chemical Co.

Monsanto reported net profit of $694 million, or $1.25 a share, in its third quarter, down from $811 million, or $1.45 a share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell 11% to $3.16 billion, and gross margin rose to 58% from 55.6%

 

[lorenzo63]

Wacker Chemie: WACKER Optimizes Its Global Production Network

Wacker Chemie: Siliconi silani polisilossani etc. (meccanica, mat plastiche, alcuni tipi di prodotti per vernici, distaccanti antifog etc. + wafer di silicio -pc-)

08.07.2009
Munich, July 8, 2009 - Wacker Chemie AG intends to introduce a new site strategy
to increase flexibility and further optimize the integrated production network
of its Siltronic semiconductor subsidiary. Silicon wafer production is to be
concentrated at lead sites according to individual diameters. This was decided
today by the relevant WACKER Group committees. This approach involves, for
example, discontinuing 150 mm wafer production at Freiberg and transferring
these production volumes to Burghausen. In the 300 mm wafer segment, the
Burghausen site is expected to become the focus of R&D-related tasks, with
production being pooled at Freiberg and Singapore. Singapore will become the
lead site for 200 mm wafers, too. The new site strategy along with the expected
development of the semiconductor market results in impairments on fixed assets
totaling some EUR120 million, which will be accounted for in the financial
statements for the first half of 2009.
In addition to these realignments at Siltronic, WACKER will also implement
structural improvements at WACKER SILICONES targeting at cost reductions, higher
flexibility and improved plant capacity utilization. Compared to March 31, 2009,
all these measures are expected to cut nearly 800 positions at Siltronic and
WACKER SILICONES by the end of 2010. WACKER has already found a solution for 450
of the employees affected. To implement the remaining job cuts, WACKER will book
provisions totaling about EUR15 million in Q2 2009. Since mid-2008, Siltronic
has already reduced its workforce by some 550 employees, including external
temporary workers.
In addition, the relevant WACKER Group committees decided today to execute a
control and profit transfer agreement between Siltronic AG and Wacker-Chemie
Dritte Venture GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wacker Chemie AG. Since such
an agreement already exists between Wacker-Chemie Dritte Venture GmbH and Wacker
Chemie AG, profits and losses at Siltronic can now be netted with Wacker Chemie
AG??s resulting net income. WACKER expects this agreement to have a positive
effect on 2009??s after-tax income ranging in the higher double-digit euro
millions.

 

[Imark]

ZURICH (Dow Jones)--Clariant AG (CLN.VX) said Thursday it has placed 300 million Swiss francs ($294.1 million) in convertible bonds due 2014 with investors, more than the CHF225 million originally planned because of strong demand.

The Basel-based company said the conversion price was set at CHF8.55 a share, while the coupon is 3% annually.

Clariant didn't give a reason for raising the funds. BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Commerzbank and UBS worked as joint bookrunner and joint lead managers on the offering

Le caratteristiche del Clariant cv nell'indicazione di Moody's che assegna rating Ba1: il cv è senior unsecured, non è mandatory conversion, paga interessi in cash e non è provvisto di meccanismi di differimento delle cedole.

Si apprendono altre cose interessanti su Clariant: non ha debito senior secured (anche i loans attivati dalle controllate operative sono senior unsecured). La posizione di liquidità rimane solida, e rafforzata da una efficace gestione del working capital nel primo trimestre dell'anno...

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]Moody's assigns Ba1 rating to Clariant's convertible bond.[/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]London, 06 July 2009 -- Moody's assigned Ba1 / LGD 4 (54) rating to CHF 300 million senior unsecured convertible notes issued by Clariant AG. The outlook is stable. [/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]The new instrument will, in Moody's view, have debt-like features that underpin its basket "A" treatment, i.e. 100% debt for financial leverage purposes (please refer to Moody's Rating Methodology "Refinements to Moody's Tool Kit: Evolutionary, not Revolutionary!" of February 2005). The basket allocation is based on the following rankings for the three dimensions of equity: (a) 5 year maturity and absence of mandatory conversion mechanism; (b) no option to defer on-going interest payment that will be made in cash; as well as (c) senior unsecured claim in an event of bankruptcy. [/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]The Ba1 / LGD 4 (54) ratings on the company's 2012 and 2013 notes and the convertible bond remain at the level of the issuer rating reflecting absence of secured liabilities, while the terms of the new notes include the negative pledge provision relating to the company's capital market indebtedness only. Moody's notes that Clariant maintains some CHF 261 m in senior unsecured loans raised by operating subsidiaries to fund local operations. [/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]The stable outlook on the Ba1 ratings reflects some headroom at this level to accommodate weakening in the operating performance over the medium term as the company continues to implement the broad restructuring programme. Furthermore, the stable outlook continues to reflect the successful and proactive management of the liquidity position.[/FONT]


[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]Moody's notes that proceeds from the CHF 300 million in convertible notes raised in 3Q 2009 should further support the liquidity position of the company and help meet the substantial restructuring costs anticipated in 2009/2010. Moody's furthermore notes that delays in the implementation and a timely conclusion of the restructuring efforts or further deterioration in the operating environment from the current depressed levels may lead to a change in the stable outlook. [/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]Clariant's liquidity position is supported by CHF 438 million in cash balances at the end of March 2009, strong WC inflows in 1Q of 2009 and availability under the WC facility that remains undrawn. Moody's notes that proceeds from CHF 300 million in convertible notes raised in 3Q 2009 should further support the liquidity position of the company during the restructuring phase. In 2008, the company has refinanced its shorter-term maturities and has only limited refinancing needs until 2011. [/FONT]

...

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]Moody's last rating action on Clariant was on 3 March 2009 when the rating agency downgraded the ratings of Clariant AG rating by one notch to Ba1 and assigned a stable outlook on the ratings. [/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]Headquartered in Muttenz, Switzerland, Clariant AG is a leading international specialty chemicals group. In the fiscal year ended in December 2008, Clariant reported net revenues of CHF 8.1 billion. [/FONT]

 

[Imark]

Henkel downgradata... la parcheggio qui ... diventa interessante a questo punto la scommessa sul perpetual: è probabile che per un anno o magari due possa saltare la cedola...

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]Moody's downgrades Henkel to A3/Prime-2; outlook stable[/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]Approximately EUR3.3 billion rated debt affected

London, 08 July 2009 -- Moody's Investors Service has today downgraded to A3/Prime-2 from A2/Prime-1 the senior unsecured long-term and short-term ratings of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Henkel Corporation Finance Inc., Henkel Europe Finance B.V. and Henkel of America Inc. (together, "Henkel"). At the same time, Moody's downgraded to Baa2 from Baa1 the subordinated debt rating of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA. The rating outlook is stable. This action concludes Moody's review for possible downgrade initiated on 9 April 2009.


Today's downgrade reflects Henkel's heightened business risk profile, given Henkel's Adhesive Technologies segment's increased exposure to cyclical industries, and Moody's concerns that the company's profitability and credit metrics are likely to remain under pressure at least throughout 2009.


More specifically, Moody's cautions that Henkel's margins are likely to remain weak due to the soft trading in the company's Adhesive Technologies segment, which is suffering from the difficulties in industrial customer segments, such as automobiles, metal and electronics. This weakening was also evidenced in Q1 2009, when EBIT in this segment declined to EUR47 million in Q1 2009 from EUR150 million in Q1 2008. Moody's further cautions that Henkel's business risk profile has increased with the acquisition of the adhesives business from National Starch in 2008, due to the inherent cyclicality of the electronics materials segment.


"In Moody's view, the combination of already weak credit metrics at the end of 2008 and the less resilient profile of the adhesives business than Moody's had initially expected no longer support an A2 rating in the current cycle," says Marika Makela, Assistant Vice President and Lead Analyst for Henkel at Moody's.


More positively, the A3 rating continues to reflect Henkel's sound market positions in the Laundry & Home Care and Cosmetics/Toiletries segments, and its leading positions in the Adhesive Technologies segment. Moreover, Moody's believes that the company should be well placed to benefit from these positions once economic conditions improve.


Furthermore, Moody's expects Henkel to be able to generate reasonable cash flows in 2009, due to the degree of resilience in its Laundry & Home Care and Cosmetics/Toiletries segments as well as the cost synergies achieved from the adhesives acquisition and Henkel's Global Excellence restructuring initiatives. Moody's also recognises that the company has frozen its acquisition budget and is expected to reduce capital expenditures by 30% in FY2009. Therefore, the rating outlook is stable, reflecting Moody's expectation that RCF to net debt will be maintained above 25% and leverage below 2.5x on a sustainable basis.


The last rating action was implemented on 9 April 2009, when Moody's placed Henkel's ratings under review for a possible downgrade.


....


Headquartered in Dusseldorf, Germany, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA is one of the world's leading producers of home and personal care products, and is also the world's leading manufacturer of adhesives for the consumer, craftsmen and industrial segments. In 2008, Henkel reported sales of around EUR14 billion.
[/FONT]

 

[Imark]

Debole la produzione dell'etilene e dei suoi derivati negli USA nel 2009 ... e dunque per il petrolchimico a stelle e strisce ancora un anno difficile (non migliore si preannuncia quello dell'industria europea).

Anche perché nel mentre gli anni passano e oramai siamo alle soglie dell'entrata in produzione degli impianti mediorientali, con i loro bassi costi di approvvigionamento di materia prima....

Report per specialisti del settore o per investitori molto presenti in emittenti del comparto.

Fitch Expects Sales Volumes of Ethylene and its Derivatives to Remain Low

Fitch Ratings-Chicago-06 July 2009: Absent clear signs of a rebound in cyclical end-user markets such as construction and housing, automotives, and those markets depending on discretionary consumer spending, Fitch Ratings expects low sales volumes of ethylene and its derivatives for the remainder of 2009, as detailed in the report released today. A potential 2010 recovery will only be slow and gradual rather than v-shaped.

The recovery will be particularly lengthy in the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) segment given PVC's high dependency on the housing and construction sector. Renewed discussions to implement bans for the use of polystyrene (PS) in fast-food containers also cast doubts on recovery prospects for PS


Prospects are moderately better for high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and low-linear density polyethylene (LLDPE). While sales volumes for both materials were adversely affected by the economic downturn, HDPE and LLDPE may benefit from less cyclical end-user markets, particularly in the food and packaging sector


Even in the event of a rebound, the economics of the ethylene value chain may remain under pressure as new global capacity additions, particularly in the Middle East, come onstream which benefit from low-cost access to feedstock. As a result, production capacity, especially smaller and older steam crackers, will be idled or permanently shut down along the U.S. Gulf Coast. North American producers will also continue to seek alliances and joint ventures with players from the Middle East.


The full report 'North American Chemicals: Ethylene Value Chain Dynamics and Outlook' can be found on the Fitch Ratings' web site at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

 

[nik.sala]

ragazzi riuscite ad aggiornarmi sdinteticamente sulla società INEOS ???
Siamo vicini al default, o può essere considerato un investimento su cui pensare di speculare ???
Come bond in €, abbiamo il vynil 2011 e il 2016, mi confermate che non ce ne siano altri ???
Thanks

 

[lorenzo63]

In serata aggiorno il Montitor Chimica ...

 

[lorenzo63]

ragazzi riuscite ad aggiornarmi sdinteticamente sulla società INEOS ???
Siamo vicini al default, o può essere considerato un investimento su cui pensare di speculare ???
Come bond in €, abbiamo il vynil 2011 e il 2016, mi confermate che non ce ne siano altri ???
Thanks

Vai al post 422 ... ti dà già una rapida idea di come sono messi ... per il vynil, come dire? se morisse nn se ne accorgerebbe nessuno... anche se ad una domanda diretta ad un tizio dice che la 14ma gliel' hanno pagata...

Ad ogni buon conto ne abbiamo parlato diffusamente di Ineos in questo 3D ... e le indicazioni che appaiono sono abbastanza sconfortanti.. però poi le decisioni su cosa fare in ultima analisi sono tue..

 

[Imark]

ragazzi riuscite ad aggiornarmi sdinteticamente sulla società INEOS ???
Siamo vicini al default, o può essere considerato un investimento su cui pensare di speculare ???
Come bond in €, abbiamo il vynil 2011 e il 2016, mi confermate che non ce ne siano altri ???
Thanks

Vai al post 422 ... ti dà già una rapida idea di come sono messi ... per il vynil, come dire? se morisse nn se ne accorgerebbe nessuno... anche se ad una domanda diretta ad un tizio dice che la 14ma gliel' hanno pagata...

Ad ogni buon conto ne abbiamo parlato diffusamente di Ineos in questo 3D ... e le indicazioni che appaiono sono abbastanza sconfortanti.. però poi le decisioni su cosa fare in ultima analisi sono tue..

Concordo con Lorenzo, la situazione di fondo resta estremamente difficile... solo che le banche impegnate hanno a propria volta interesse a prendere tempo e ad evitare un default...

L'investimento qui è ad altissimo rischio, giacché in caso di default il 2016 è anch subordinato, ed il suo recovery è presumibilmente molto basso se non nullo, visto che i loans che sono gerarchicamente sovraordinati come debito rispetto ai bond scambiano attorno a 65, a significare che nemmeno per essi ci sono prospettive di recupero pieno in caso di default.

Ciò detto, in un contesto di estrema volatilità quale è quello determinato dalle news sull'accordo con le banche (qui sotto trovi un aggiornamento news) si può provare ad effettuare qualche operazione di trading stretto, ben sapendo tuttavia che queste operazioni espongono a rischi ancor più alti di altre analoghe condotte sull'azionario, perché sui bond molto "distressed" devi confrontarti spesso con situazioni di forte illiquidità, di spread bid ask molto ampi, o suscettibili di ampliarsi a decine di punti in poco tempo, sulla scorta di eventuali notizie sfavorevoli...

Insomma, un trading molto particolare... entro il 15 luglio i creditori dovranno votare sul piano di resettaggio dei covenants, se il voto fosse positivo, occorrerebbe essere abbastanza attenti a valutare il selling on news....

Altre news in grado di incidere sulla vicenda sono quelle relative ad un accordo di partnership con finanziatori esteri... questo con Petrochina è stato molto chiacchierato dalla stampa, ma ad oggi non ha prodotto ritorni concreti... d'altronde, anche ammesso che interesse vi sia, i cinesi aspetterebbero la definizione della vicenda dell'accordo con le banche prima di dare spessore alle trattative...

Al link sotto, news sulla vicenda PetroChina...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aKgde4vu8tlQ

RLPC-Ineos loans and bonds trade up before lender vote

Thu Jul 2, 2009 1:10pm EDT

LONDON July 2 (Reuters) - Ineos's loans and bonds are rising in value before a July 15 loan waiver deadline to give the privately owned British chemicals firm extra headroom on its 7.5 billion euro ($10.6 billion) debt, banking sources said.

Senior lenders are set to agree the waiver, which will reset Ineos's [INEOSP.UL] leveraged loan covenants, to avoid a debt-for-equity swap that would allow bondholders to claim the equity, a senior investor said on Thursday.

"There is willingness from everyone to support this company and management," he said.

Bids on Ineos's euro-denominated institutional term loans have risen more than 8.5 points from last week's level of 63.64 percent of face value, according to Thomson Reuters LPC data.

Bonds maturing in 2016 were quoted at 34 percent of face value on Thursday, a bond trader told Reuters, up from around 27 percent before the June 25 waiver announcement.

The cost of buying protection against Ineos defaulting also tightened by 2 percent upfront this week in another positive sign for the indebted chemicals firm, a bond trader said.

Five-year credit default swaps (CDS) were bid at 55 percent upfront on Thursday, in from 56 percent at the beginning of the week. In January, the cost of Ineos's CDS peaked at about 90 percent, he said.

Ineos asked lenders to reset the leverage, interest cover and debt service cover covenant levels on its loans, beginning in September.

Ineos is offering lenders additional fees as well as a 2 percent increase in interest rates on the loans, finance director John Reece told Reuters on June 25.

However, a management presentation on Monday had a mixed reception as lenders are concerned that a fee set to be paid to management company Ineos Capital is effectively a dividend to senior management and shareholders.

"It was a red rag to a bull for lots of people -- that will need to be restricted to give comfort," a banker at the presentation said.
"Owner Jim Ratcliffe has negative equity, but if you believe that the economy is coming back in four to five years and it will survive, there is equity value there for him," he said. (Reporting by Alasdair Reilly; Editing by Dan Lalor) ($1 = 0.7087 euro)