Down 79%! After Shutting Down 5 Factories, the Giant Delays Again

On August 1st, LyondellBasell (LYB) released its performance report for the first half and the second quarter of 2025. In the first half of 2025, the company achieved revenue of $15.335 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 9.7%; net income was $292 million, down 79.1% year-on-year; and EBITDA was $1.261 billion, down 53.1% year-on-year.

In the second quarter, revenue was $7.658 billion, a slight decrease year-on-year; net income was $115 million, down 35% year-on-year; EBITDA was $606 million, down 7.5% year-on-year.

LYB stated that it will continue to implement its three-pillar strategy, taking decisive actions to reshape its asset base and enhance long-term value creation.

The plan to sell four European assets (olefins and polyolefins assets and related businesses) was announced on June 5th this year, with an agreement reached with AEQUITA and exclusive negotiations underway. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026. In 2024, LYB had announced a strategic review of certain European assets, focusing on five plants in the O&P-EAI division located in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy, which account for about 30% of the division's capacity. The current sale includes four of these plants: located in Berre, France; Münchsmünster, Germany; Carrington, United Kingdom; and Tarragona, Spain.

Postpone the construction of the Flex-2 dedicated propylene project in Channelview, Texas: The project was approved in March this year and was originally scheduled to start construction in the third quarter of 2025 and be commissioned at the end of 2028. The facility will have an annual propylene production capacity of approximately 400,000 tons, employ 750 workers at the peak of construction, and is expected to add 25 permanent positions.

The final investment decision for its second pyrolysis-based advanced recycling project, MoReTec-2, has been postponed: The FID for MoReTec-2 is postponed to align with market developments and prudent capital allocation, and front-end engineering and design will be completed by the end of the year. The project will continue to advance based on market conditions and brand owners' commitments. Its MoReTec-1 project is progressing smoothly.

Expand the cash improvement plan: The plan is expected to achieve an incremental run rate of $600 million in 2025 and an additional incremental target of $500 million in 2026, totaling at least $1.1 billion in cash improvements to safeguard the balance sheet and support shareholder returns.

It is worth mentioning that in March of this year, it permanently closed the propylene oxide/styrene monomer production facility at the Maasvlakte plant in the Netherlands, a joint venture with Covestro. In February, it ceased operations at the Houston refinery.

For the future, LYB stated that it expects the integrated North American polyethylene profit margins to improve in the third quarter due to the completion of planned maintenance in April, strong domestic demand, increased export volumes, and rising prices. In Europe, stable seasonal demand and favorable feedstock costs are expected to continue. Ongoing capacity rationalization adjustments in the region will help balance regional supply and demand. Oxygenate fuel margins are expected to remain low for the remainder of the summer. LYB will continue to cautiously assess potential risks and opportunities related to tariff changes and global trade flows.

Peter Vanacker, CEO of LYB, stated: "We are encouraged by the recent improvement in polyolefin prices and demand. We remain cautiously optimistic about policy developments addressing China's overcapacity and revitalizing the European chemical industry. LYB is well-prepared to seize these market opportunities and create enduring long-term value for shareholders through the continued execution of our strategy."

For the second quarter performance, LYB stated that in North America, the company successfully completed the maintenance of the Channelview integrated plant, increasing the operating load of the facility, which led to an improvement in the sales and profit of the polyethylene integrated business compared to the previous quarter. Domestic demand for polyethylene and polypropylene strengthened due to seasonal factors, primarily driven by robust demand from industries such as consumer packaging, healthcare, construction, and infrastructure. The rise in polyethylene contract prices in June provided momentum for third-quarter earnings.

In Europe, the decline in raw material costs has driven an improvement in integrated polyethylene profits, and polyolefin sales have also benefited from seasonal demand increases.

In terms of intermediate chemicals, the profit of styrene has increased, mainly due to the decrease in the cost of benzene raw materials and price support brought by industry shutdowns in the second quarter. The profit of the oxygenated fuel business declined as lower crude oil prices suppressed the seasonal benefits usually brought by the peak travel season in summer.

During the second quarter, global markets began to adapt to trade fluctuations, and the operating environment for multiple product chains tended to stabilize.