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Everchem Updates
VOLUME XXI
September 14, 2023
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February 9, 2022
Industrial fire in Orange generates huge flames, explosion
By Nathaniel Percy | npercy@scng.com | Daily BreezePUBLISHED: February 9, 2022 at 2:56 a.m. | UPDATED: February 9, 2022 at 8:26 a.m.
A fire at a large foam-making company in Orange sent massive flames and plumes of smoke into the air early Wednesday, Feb. 9, possibly destroying two vehicles and a couple outbuildings before firefighters extinguished the blaze, authorities said.
No employee or firefighter was injured, said Capt. Ryan O’Connor of the Orange Fire Department.
Firefighters received a call from employees at FXI, located at 2060 N. Batavia St., about 12:30 a.m.
As firefighters made their way to the 24-acre property, “most of our rigs could see a header and a glow from their stations,” he said.
Firefighters immediately called for more resources and took a defensive approach, setting up rigs around the circumference of the property to pour water onto the fire and protect neighboring buildings, O’Connor said.
Employees told firefighters they were loading large rectangles of foam, called foam buns, from an outside lot onto a conveyor belt to be processed when they noticed one of them smoking, O’Connor said.
“They moved it off of the conveyor belt and they tried to extinguish it, but by that time, it had gotten out of hand and had spread to others,” the captain said.
Fifteen to 20 employees were across the street from the building when firefighters arrived, he said.
The department received help from nearby fire departments, with the bulk of the fire put out in about two hours.
What caused the fire was under investigation and an estimated cost of the damage was not immediately available.
FXI has operated at the facility since 2009 and purchased the property in 2014, according to a company statement announcing the purchase.
In October 2020, firefighters put out a smaller blaze at FXI in about 20 minutes. During that battle, firefighters focused their efforts on a large metal pipe that connected the main building with a smaller structure outside.
February 9, 2022
SKC: 4Q21 Results Solid Excluding One-offs
- By Lee Jin-myung & Choi Gyu-heon
- February 9, 2022, 17:49
4Q21 OP falls short at KRW99.4bn (-32% QoQ) due to one-offs
SKC posted operating profit of KRW99.4bn (-32% QoQ) for 4Q21, missing the consensus estimate of KRW117.9bn. Factoring out one-off expenses of KRW25bn incurred from employee bonuses, ramp-up of a new plant and commercialization of transparent PI films, actual earnings were solid.
The mobility materials division reported top-line growth on increased volume, but saw operating profit fall 13% QoQ due to employee bonuses and costs related to the sixth new plant. Chemicals delivered solid results with operating profit coming in at KRW89.3bn (-5% QoQ) and operating margin remaining high at 29.6% despite one-off expenses, thanks to the continued uptrend in propylene glycol (PG) and propylene oxide (PO) spreads. Operating earnings from industrial materials turned to a loss due to costs incurred for the commercialization of transparent PI films, but sales of semiconductor materials reached a new quarterly high on shipment growth.
1Q22 OP forecast at KRW125.4bn (+26% QoQ)
For 1Q22, we forecast operating profit at KRW125.4bn (+26% QoQ). The mobility materials division will likely report sales of KRW202.2bn (+7% QoQ) and operating profit of KRW26.7bn (+30% QoQ). Earnings growth should be driven by increasing shipments from the ramp-up of the sixth plant (slated for March) and rising copper foil ASP. With chip shortages causing disruptions in production at EV clients, we expect SKC to focus on diversifying its clientele to minimize negative impact on overall earnings.
Operating profit from chemicals is projected at KRW86.1bn (-4% QoQ) for 1Q22. PO spreads will likely decline amid weakening market conditions. In contrast, demand for high value-added PG is expected to remain strong, helping to limit the decline in overall operating profit from chemicals. Industrial and semiconductor materials should post growth in both sales and profits, backed by brisk downstream demand in 1Q22.
http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=87296
February 9, 2022
SKC: 4Q21 Results Solid Excluding One-offs
- By Lee Jin-myung & Choi Gyu-heon
- February 9, 2022, 17:49
4Q21 OP falls short at KRW99.4bn (-32% QoQ) due to one-offs
SKC posted operating profit of KRW99.4bn (-32% QoQ) for 4Q21, missing the consensus estimate of KRW117.9bn. Factoring out one-off expenses of KRW25bn incurred from employee bonuses, ramp-up of a new plant and commercialization of transparent PI films, actual earnings were solid.
The mobility materials division reported top-line growth on increased volume, but saw operating profit fall 13% QoQ due to employee bonuses and costs related to the sixth new plant. Chemicals delivered solid results with operating profit coming in at KRW89.3bn (-5% QoQ) and operating margin remaining high at 29.6% despite one-off expenses, thanks to the continued uptrend in propylene glycol (PG) and propylene oxide (PO) spreads. Operating earnings from industrial materials turned to a loss due to costs incurred for the commercialization of transparent PI films, but sales of semiconductor materials reached a new quarterly high on shipment growth.
1Q22 OP forecast at KRW125.4bn (+26% QoQ)
For 1Q22, we forecast operating profit at KRW125.4bn (+26% QoQ). The mobility materials division will likely report sales of KRW202.2bn (+7% QoQ) and operating profit of KRW26.7bn (+30% QoQ). Earnings growth should be driven by increasing shipments from the ramp-up of the sixth plant (slated for March) and rising copper foil ASP. With chip shortages causing disruptions in production at EV clients, we expect SKC to focus on diversifying its clientele to minimize negative impact on overall earnings.
Operating profit from chemicals is projected at KRW86.1bn (-4% QoQ) for 1Q22. PO spreads will likely decline amid weakening market conditions. In contrast, demand for high value-added PG is expected to remain strong, helping to limit the decline in overall operating profit from chemicals. Industrial and semiconductor materials should post growth in both sales and profits, backed by brisk downstream demand in 1Q22.
http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=87296
February 9, 2022
World’s Top Shipping Exec Says Worst Supply-Chain Snarls Have Peaked
by Tyler DurdenWednesday, Feb 09, 2022 – 11:11 AM
AP Moller-Maersk suggests the climax of global supply-chains snarls has passed, and bottlenecks will alleviate in the second half of the year. There are emerging signs major transpacific shipping freight rates are at a critical inflection point.
“We are guiding in an environment where we are coming out of a pandemic, and we don’t have much experience with that to be honest,” Chief Executive Officer Soren Skou said in a Bloomberg TV interview.
“So we are saying we expect quite a strong first half of 2022, and then we expect what we call a normalization early in the second half,” Skou said.
The top shipping exec expects transpacific shipping rates to decline as COVID restrictions are lifted, leading to the easing of congestion at the US’ largest container ports, ones located at Los Angeles and Long Beach on the US west coast.
“We are trying to guide as best as we possibly can, not to be optimistic or pessimistic,” he said. “We do not have much visibility to what will happen when people return to work, when bottlenecks open up and a lot of the capacity tied up today in Los Angeles and Long Beach gets released — how is that going to work out. We’ll have to see.”
There’s growing consensus on Wall Street, especially with JP Morgan, as one of their analysts told clients days ago that global supply chain constraints have peaked. A leading indicator of this is major shipping rates which have slumped in recent months.
The exact timing of the normalization to the shipping industry is unknown, considering there’s no data of coming out of a virus pandemic. Though the world’s top shipping exec says it could happen as soon as this summer.
If peak congestion has already hit, this would suggest chip shortages could diminish later this year, thus increasing new vehicle production and possibly topping out used car prices.
February 9, 2022
World’s Top Shipping Exec Says Worst Supply-Chain Snarls Have Peaked
by Tyler DurdenWednesday, Feb 09, 2022 – 11:11 AM
AP Moller-Maersk suggests the climax of global supply-chains snarls has passed, and bottlenecks will alleviate in the second half of the year. There are emerging signs major transpacific shipping freight rates are at a critical inflection point.
“We are guiding in an environment where we are coming out of a pandemic, and we don’t have much experience with that to be honest,” Chief Executive Officer Soren Skou said in a Bloomberg TV interview.
“So we are saying we expect quite a strong first half of 2022, and then we expect what we call a normalization early in the second half,” Skou said.
The top shipping exec expects transpacific shipping rates to decline as COVID restrictions are lifted, leading to the easing of congestion at the US’ largest container ports, ones located at Los Angeles and Long Beach on the US west coast.
“We are trying to guide as best as we possibly can, not to be optimistic or pessimistic,” he said. “We do not have much visibility to what will happen when people return to work, when bottlenecks open up and a lot of the capacity tied up today in Los Angeles and Long Beach gets released — how is that going to work out. We’ll have to see.”
There’s growing consensus on Wall Street, especially with JP Morgan, as one of their analysts told clients days ago that global supply chain constraints have peaked. A leading indicator of this is major shipping rates which have slumped in recent months.
The exact timing of the normalization to the shipping industry is unknown, considering there’s no data of coming out of a virus pandemic. Though the world’s top shipping exec says it could happen as soon as this summer.
If peak congestion has already hit, this would suggest chip shortages could diminish later this year, thus increasing new vehicle production and possibly topping out used car prices.
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