AB Plasta Builds PE Film Recycling Production Line; Volvo's Q3 Profit Exceeds Expectations

International News Guide

Raw Material News - Westlake Chemical Records $727 Million Impairment Loss on PVC Business

Automotive News - Volvo Cars' Q3 Profit Exceeds Expectations

Electronics News - Apple's Q4 Earnings Beat Expectations; Cook Predicts "Blockbuster" Sales for iPhone 17

Additive News - Clariant Q3: Adjusted EBITDA Margin Rises 230 Basis Points to 17.9%

Other News - AB Plasta Builds PE Film Recycling Production Line with TOMRA's Digital Technology

Macroeconomic News - U.S. Treasury Secretary Says China-U.S. Trade Agreement Could Be Signed as Early as Next Week; Ministry of Foreign Affairs Responds

Price Information - CNY/USD Central Parity Rate Stands at 7.0880, Down 16 Pips

Details of International News

Westlake Chemical Records $727 Million Impairment Loss on PVC Business

According to Plastmatch on October 31, amid weak PVC demand and oversupply, Westlake Chemical recently announced that it will record a $727 million goodwill impairment loss on its North American PVC business.

According to Westlake Chemical's recently released Q3 financial report, in the third quarter of 2025, the company also incurred $17 million in expenses related to previously announced asset closures. The company's total net loss in Q3 was $782 million, or $6.06 per share.

Sales for the third quarter ended September 30, 2025, were $2.84 billion, a nearly 10% decrease from the same period last year. In addition, Westlake Chemical's sales volume in Q3 2025 decreased by 1% compared with Q2, and the average selling price decreased by 2%.

The financial report shows that the company's Performance and Basic Materials segment recorded an operating loss of $158 million in Q3 2025, compared with an operating profit of $66 million in Q3 2024. Westlake Chemical stated that the performance decline was mainly due to a 7% drop in average selling prices (especially for PVC resin) and a 6% decrease in sales volume (especially for chlorine).

Braskem and Balsam Hill^® Jointly Launch Plant-Based Plastic Christmas Tree

According to Plastmatch on October 31, Braskem and Balsam Hill^® jointly launched the world's first Christmas tree made of plant-based plastic.

For Balsam Hill, these Christmas trees are an important part of its reNEW™ commitment, which aims to adopt new and more sustainable materials (recycled or renewable materials), and Christmas trees are the first application area of this commitment.

AB Plasta Builds PE Film Recycling Production Line with TOMRA's Digital Technology

AB Plasta is one of the largest polyethylene recycling companies in Central and Eastern Europe. Its factory in Vilnius, Lithuania, is equipped with a flexible film recycling production line.

The production line is built based on TOMRA Recycling's Autosort Speedair technology and is digitally connected through the cloud-based TOMRA Insight platform. According to the company, the overall efficiency of this production line can reach about 90%.

Through the combination of optimized input materials, sensor-based sorting and data-based monitoring, the production line achieves high purity and efficiency—an important step to meet the requirements of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). AB Plasta processes PCR and industrial film waste on the production line.

Clariant Q3: Adjusted EBITDA Margin Rises 230 Basis Points to 17.9%

Clariant recently released its Q3 2025 financial report, which shows a significant increase in profitability. This fully reflects the effectiveness of the performance improvement plans of various business units, as well as the effectiveness of pricing and cost management.

The adjusted EBITDA margin for the quarter reached 17.9%, an increase of 230 basis points from the same period last year. This excellent performance demonstrates the company's risk resistance and excellent operational capabilities amid ongoing market challenges.

Pricing performance in the Adsorbents & Additives business was strong, but sales volume in the Care Chemicals and Catalysts businesses declined, leading to a slight decrease in overall sales in local currency.

According to Clariant's CEO: "The CHF 80 million savings plan we announced on Investor Day is progressing smoothly, with CHF 31 million in savings achieved year-to-date. Given the current weak industrial production outlook and low consumer confidence, we maintain our 2025 profitability target of an adjusted EBITDA margin of 17%-18%, and expect sales growth in local currency to be at the lower end of the 1%-3% target range."

Apple's Q4 Earnings Beat Expectations; Cook Predicts "Blockbuster" Sales for iPhone 17

Apple released its financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025 (ended September 27, 2025 calendar year).

Performance data shows that Apple's revenue in the quarter reached $102.466 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8%; diluted earnings per share were $1.85, a year-on-year increase of 13%, which were stronger than market expectations of $102.24 billion and $1.77 respectively.

In the sub-item data: iPhone sales were $49.025 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.1%, but still lower than the market expectation of $50.19 billion; Mac sales were $8.726 billion, a year-on-year increase of 12.7%, higher than the market expectation of $8.59 billion; iPad sales were $6.952 billion, compared with $6.95 billion in the same period last year, slightly lower than the market expectation of $6.98 billion; Wearables, Home and Accessories sales were $9.013 billion, compared with $9.042 billion in the same period last year, and the market expectation was $8.49 billion; Services revenue was $28.750 billion, a year-on-year increase of 15%, and the market expectation was $28.17 billion.

Volvo Cars' Q3 Profit Exceeds Expectations

Recently, Volvo Cars announced that in the third quarter of this year, the company's revenue was SEK 86.4 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 6.9%; earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) was SEK 6.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 10.3%, exceeding expectations, mainly due to the faster-than-expected effect of the company's significant cost reduction; the EBIT margin was 7.4%, compared with 6.2% in the same period last year.

Net profit was SEK 4.5 billion, a slight increase from SEK 4.4 billion in the same period last year. Volvo Cars' gross profit margin rose to 20.4% from 17.7% in the previous quarter.

Håkan Samuelsson, CEO of the company, said that the improvement in gross profit margin was driven by three factors: the facelift and upgrade of its best-selling model XC60; significant cost savings from supply chain cooperation with Geely; and the company's cost reduction plan.

In terms of sales volume, Volvo Cars sold 160,514 vehicles in the third quarter, a 7% decrease compared with the same period in 2024. However, the company's retail sales resumed slight growth in September, thanks to its best-ever performance in the UK market and strong results in other markets such as Austria, Turkey, Canada, Brazil and Mexico.

Overseas Macroeconomic Market

【U.S. Treasury Secretary Says China-U.S. Trade Agreement Could Be Signed as Early as Next Week; Ministry of Foreign Affairs Responds】

According to Global Times, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun hosted a regular press conference on October 31. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the China-U.S. trade agreement could be signed as early as next week.

In response, Guo Jiakun said that during the meeting between the Chinese and U.S. heads of state in Busan, they discussed issues such as economic and trade relations and agreed to strengthen cooperation in economic and trade and other fields. The competent Chinese authorities also introduced the results of the Kuala Lumpur economic and trade consultations yesterday.

China is willing to work with the United States to implement the important consensus of the two heads of state, adhere to the principles of equality, respect and mutual benefit, continuously reduce the problem list and expand the cooperation list through dialogue and consultation, promote the healthy, stable and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations, and inject more certainty and stability into the world.

【Russian Prime Minister Mishustin to Visit China for the 30th Regular Meeting of Chinese and Russian Prime Ministers】

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson announced: At the invitation of Premier Li Qiang of the State Council, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin of the Government of the Russian Federation will visit China from November 3 to 4 to hold the 30th Regular Meeting of Chinese and Russian Prime Ministers.

【Yellen Says Fed Chair Candidate Should Be Determined Before Christmas】

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, "We will conduct the second round of interviews and hope to submit a list of candidates to the President sometime after Thanksgiving and in early December." She added, "The final decision is in his hands, and it is conceivable that we will determine a candidate before Christmas." Yellen also said that she appreciates the Federal Reserve's 25 basis point interest rate cut, but does not like its wording.

【Euro Zone Economic Growth Exceeds Expectations; France Unexpectedly Posts Best Performance in Over Two Years】

The Euro Zone's economic expansion exceeded expectations, showing resilience in the face of U.S. tariff hikes, with France recording its strongest growth in more than two years.

Data released by Eurostat on Thursday showed that gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.2% in the third quarter compared with the previous three months, higher than 0.1% in the second quarter, and the market expected a growth of 0.1%. France was the main driver of the better-than-expected data, growing by 0.5% driven by trade and domestic demand.

Germany, the Euro Zone's largest economy, stagnated along with Italy, narrowly avoiding a recession. Data released a day earlier showed that Spain, which has been performing well, recorded another strong quarter. Economic data for the third quarter of other countries in the region were mixed. The Netherlands grew by 0.4%, Belgium by 0.3%, Austria by 0.1%, Portugal by 0.8%, while Ireland, Finland and Lithuania all contracted.

【German Economy Stagnates; French Growth Hits Fastest Pace Since 2023】

Germany's economy stagnated in the third quarter, avoiding a recession but falling far short of France's unexpectedly strong expansion. In the three months to September, Germany's GDP was flat, in line with analysts' expectations.

At the same time, France's economy grew by 0.5%, driven by trade and domestic demand, hitting the fastest growth rate since 2023. Italy's output remained unchanged. Except for Spain, which has been performing well, most countries hope to increase military and infrastructure spending next year to provide new growth momentum.

Economic data for the third quarter of other countries in the region were mixed. The Netherlands grew by 0.4%, Belgium by 0.3%, Austria by 0.1%, while Ireland, Finland and Lithuania all contracted. Analysts expected the Euro Zone's economic growth rate in the third quarter to be 0.1%, the same as the previous three months.

Price Information

The CNY/USD central parity rate was reported at 7.0880, down 16 pips. The central parity rate of the previous trading day was 7.0864, the onshore CNY closing price at 16:30 was 7.1107, and the night session closing price was 7.1098.

【Upstream Raw Material USD Market Prices】

Ethylene Asia: CFR Northeast Asia USD 750/ton (stable); CFR Southeast Asia USD 755/ton (stable).

Propylene Northeast Asia: FOB South Korea average USD 730/ton (stable); CFR China average USD 745/ton (stable).

North Asia refrigerated cargo CIF price: Propane USD 513-515/ton; Butane USD 534-536/ton.

South China (China) refrigerated cargo CIF price for early December: Propane USD 547-557/ton; Butane USD 532-542/ton.

Taiwan region refrigerated cargo CIF price: Propane USD 513-515/ton; Butane USD 534-536/ton.

【LLDPE USD Market Prices】

Film: USD 830-860/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Injection Molding: USD 935/ton (CFR Huangpu).

【HDPE USD Market Prices】

Film: USD 860-900/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Injection Molding: USD 820/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Blow Molding (Hollow): USD 830-860/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Pipes: USD 1010/ton (CFR Huangpu).

【LDPE USD Market Prices】

Film: USD 1030-1050/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Coating: USD 1280/ton (CFR Huangpu).

【PP USD Market Prices】

Injection Molding: USD 840-915/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Copolymer: USD 840-870/ton (CFR Nansha);

Film Grade: USD 1015/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Transparent Grade: USD 1035-1080/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Pipes: USD 1100/ton (CFR Shanghai).