Petkim's Net Profit Reaches TRY 356 Million in Second Quarter

SOCAR Türkiye's affiliate Petkim announced its second-quarter 2018 results. Maintaining its strong position amid global market dynamics, Petkim preserved operational efficiency. In the second quarter, Petkim increased net sales by 25 percent compared to the first quarter, bringing them to TRY 2.3 billion, while net profit rose 183 percent from TRY 126 million to TRY 356 million in the same period. Petkim's EBITDA in the second quarter increased 80 percent compared to the first quarter, reaching TRY 439 million. In the second quarter, Petkim's capacity utilization rate was 96 percent. Petkim General Manager Anar Mammadov noted that successful operations, efficient partnerships and investments in technology underpinned their achievements, stating: "2018 is a transformation year for Petkim. We began this year, in which we focused on efficiency-driven investments, with our STAR Refinery partnership. With STAR Refinery commencing operations in the fourth quarter of this year, we will meet 100 percent of our raw material needs from there. In response to rising global oil prices, we have an action plan focused on making good use of the opportunities that will arise when STAR Refinery goes into production. Petkim currently meets 20 percent of Turkey's petrochemicals product needs. Through this integration, we aim to continue producing value-added products that Turkey requires while increasing our contribution to the economy," he said.

'2018 Will Be a Year of Transformation and Digitalization'

Anar Mammadov noted that they aim to achieve first results by year-end in digitalization, a medium-term project, and continued: "This is a very important year for us; because we have taken our first steps in digitalization, which we believe will make a significant contribution to efficiency, by developing our roadmap. We are also beginning a collaboration with one of the world's leading institutes for strategic and innovative research and development work that will advance our country and sector on the global stage. Our ultimate goal is to bring Petkim to the level of the most innovative and digital company in its sector." Stating that while making all these investments they maintain balanced positions on the balance sheet, Mammadov added that through more efficient production and more profitable sales, they will continue as Turkey's strongest petrochemicals company in the coming period.