LyondellBasell Industries N.V.
LYB
recently announced that its polypropylene (PP) technology has been selected by Kaijin Blue Sky Energy (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd., for a new world scale facility in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
The company stated that the facility will include a 300 kilo tons per annum (KTA) polypropylene plant by employing LyondellBasell’s Spherizone technology and a 600 KTA polypropylene plant using LyondellBasell’s Spheripol technology. Moreover, the company stated that both facilities will start operations using LyondellBasell’s Avant ZN catalyst.
The company’s Spheripol technology is the leading process technology for PP process. It has more than 30 million tons of licensed capacity. Spheripol’s latest fifth-generation technology includes process improvements that maximize operational efficiency. The Spherizone multi-zone circulating reactor offers unique and innovative platform to produce PP products. LyondellBasell has more than 15 licenses Spherizone plants in Asia.
Shares of LyondellBasell have lost 5.4% in the past year against the
industry
’s 11% rise.
In third-quarter 2020 earnings call, the company stated that the petrochemical industry is expected to benefit from recovery in global economies. For the fourth quarter, LyondellBasell expects consistent strength in North American-integrated polyethylene margins.
The company also believes that slow recovery in global mobility will put pressure on demand for gasoline and jet fuel that will extend headwinds for its Refining and Oxyfuels & Related Products businesses. The company’s order books reflect higher demand from automotive manufacturing and other durable goods markets. This is expected to boost performance in the Advanced Polymer Solutions segment.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
LyondellBasell currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are
Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd.
IMPUY
,
BHP Group
BHP
and
Silvercorp Metals Inc.
SVM
. While Impala Platinum sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), BHP Group and Silvercorp Metals carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here
.
Impala Platinum has an expected earnings growth rate of 131.7% for fiscal 2021. Its shares have returned 43.5% in the past year.
BHP Group has an expected earnings growth rate of 32.4% for fiscal 2021. The company’s shares have gained 19.5% in the past year.
Silvercorp Metals has an expected earnings growth rate of 40% for fiscal 2021. The company’s shares have increased 16.2% in the past year.
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