Earnings from Chemical Operations Swell

If one wants to see how basic chemicals performed in a quarter, there is probably nothing better than to look at the results of chemical operations at major oil companies. This approach works for the third quarter of this year, with chemical earnings at oil firms generally enjoying significant gains.

For the five major chemical-producing oil companies, third-quarter earnings totaled $1.36 billion, a 252.2% increase over the same period last year.

At ExxonMobil, the oil company with the largest chemical segment, earnings from chemicals jumped 338.7% to $1.01 billion, representing not only the largest percentage gain in the group, but also the largest dollar gain. Chief Executive Officer Lee R. Raymond notes that these earnings "benefited from higher worldwide margins and sales volumes." Prime product sales, the company says, were 7.1 million metric tons, up 475,000 metric tons from last year's third quarter.

ConocoPhillips saw chemical earnings increase 76.1% to $81.0 million. The improvement, according to the company, reflected improved margins and volumes in olefins and polyolefins, as well as improved margins in the aromatics and styrenics business line.

Chemicals at Sunoco earned $30.0 million, a 42.9% improvement over third-quarter 2003. Again, the reason was better margins, which improved for both phenol and polypropylene because of increased selling prices.

Occidental Petroleum's earnings of $137 million were up 124.6% from the same period last year. The growth came from higher selling prices and margins in chlorine, ethylene dichloride, polyvinyl chloride, and vinyl chloride, partially offset by higher ethylene and energy costs.