UPDATE 1-LyondellBasell sees weak demand persisting in Q1
(Rewrites throughtout to add shares, revenue, background)
Feb 2 (Reuters) - Petrochemical manufacturer LyondellBasell said on Friday it expects slow demand and economic uncertainty to cause headwinds for most of its segments in the current quarter.
Chemical companies experienced a lackluster 2023 as they struggled to offload inventory amid a slowdown in demand in major markets such as the UK and China, where recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic has been weaker than expected.
LyondellBasell said weak demand pressured margins for most of its business segments in the reporting quarter.
The only bright spot was the olefins & polyolefins-Americas (O&P-Americas) segment, the company's largest segment by sales volume, which benefitted from steady domestic demand and lower ethane raw material costs.
Olefins are used in the manufacturing of polymers such as plastic.
Talking about the current quarter, the company said January demand was subdued in China as buyers managed inventories around the Lunar New Year holidays and growth remained uncertain.
It expects modest improvement across most of its business in the second half of 2024.
Revenue for the fourth quarter fell 2.7% to $9.9 billion from a year earlier but came above analysts' expectations of $9.8 billion, as per LSEG data.
Peer Dow last month reported a 10.4% drop in sales for the fourth quarter, owing to weak demand, and forecast flat sales for the current quarter.
LyondellBasell posted a net income of $185 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with $353 million, a year earlier.
Shares of the company were down about 1.8% in early trading. (Reporting by Kabir Dweit and Mrinalika Roy; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)
