The impact of the continuing global economic downturn and the continued weakness of global chemical market demand have not been so bad in Asia. In the third quarter, chemical companies in parts of Asia benefited from higher levels of installation utilization and improved profitability. At the same time, chemical companies in some countries, such as South Korea, have seen their profits fall. In response to these mixed performance, industry sources said that chemical companies should actively respond to the international negative impact, and according to their actual situation, find the most suitable path to the development of enterprises, constantly create profits, such as focusing on high-profitability products, divestiture of profitable business units, improved production equipment utilization, energy savings and cost savings.
Japan is profitable

In the first half of the fiscal year ending September 30, profits and sales at major Japanese chemical companies, including Mitsubishi Chemical, Sumitomo Chemical, Mitsui Chemical, Asahi Chemical, Xinyue Chemical, Dongli Industries, Kola and the Japanese Catalyst Company, grew.
Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, the parent company of Mitsubishi Chemical, achieved a 22 %increase in net profit from the previous year to 33.3 billion yen; Sales rose 3.8 % to 1.67 trillion yen; Operating profits rose 43 %from a year earlier to 73.7 billion yen. Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings said the strong performance in the first half of the fiscal year was mainly due to strong demand for polymer processing products and improved profits from its industrial materials business. The strong growth in net profit was partly due to gains from the sale of fixed assets.

Sumitomo Chemical's net profit rose 81 % from a year earlier to 22.6 billion yen. Sales rose 7.4 %to 1.13 trillion yen. In the first half of the year, Sumitomo Chemical's basic chemical business grew 13 percent from a year earlier to 154.9 billion yen, resulting in a loss of 3.91 billion yen, down from 4.79 billion yen a year earlier. Sales of methyl methacrylate(MMA) rose in the first half of the year mainly because of rising prices and sales, while synthetic fiber raw materials remained low and sales fell, according to Sumitomo.
In the first half of the year, the company's net profit rose 6.3 % to 49.5 billion yen. Sales rose 5.2 % to 966.9 billion yen. Sundance's chemical and fibre division saw sales rise 4.5 %to Y47.5 BN, but operating profits fell 3.6 per cent from a year earlier to Y26.6 BN.

Dongli Industries 'net profit for the first half rose 41 % year on year to 41.3 billion yen. Sales rose 11%t from a year earlier to 947.9 billion yen. Dongli Industries 'carbon fiber composite business increased 47 % to 76.6 billion yen. Operating profit rose 66% from a year earlier to 11.8 billion yen. Dongli said demand for carbon fibre composites in aviation, automotive and energy applications continued to grow strongly. In the first half of this year, the sales of plastics and chemicals business of Dongli Industries increased 8 % to 246.2 billion yen. Operating profits rose 30 % year on year to Y11.7 BN. Dongli's fibre and textile business grew 15 % to 386.2 billion yen. But operating profits fell 5.9 %from a year earlier to Y22.8 BN. Dongli industries said sales in Japan's domestic clothing application sector remained subdued due to a consumption tax hike, while sales in industrial applications were strong, driven by strong sales in automotive applications. High prices for raw materials and fuel squeeze earnings. Dongli Industries 'carbon fiber composite business increased 47 % to 76.6 billion yen. Operating profit rose 66 per cent from a year earlier to 11.8 billion yen.

Japanese catalyst companies more than doubled their net profit in the first half of the year, to 7.47 billion yen. Sales rose 36.6 %from a year earlier to 179.3 billion yen. For the current fiscal year, the Japanese catalyst expects a net profit of y20bn and sales of y370bn.
Mitsui's sales rose 6 % in the first half to 776 billion yen, net profit of 7.4 billion yen, a year earlier.
In the first half of the year, the sales revenue of the company increased 5.5 % to 603.7 billion yen. Net profit rose 5.9 %from a year earlier to 67.58 billion yen.
The company increased sales revenue by 11.7 % to 222.6 billion yen; Net profit rose 8.1 %from a year earlier to Y17 .03 billion.

 Dongcao's net profit for the first half of the year fell 2.8 % from a year earlier to 13.7 billion yen. Sales rose 5% from a year earlier to Y384 billion, boosted by higher export prices and a weak yen. In the first half of the year, the company's petrochemical operations saw sales rise 6.2 per cent to Y116 .6 BN, while operating profits fell 34.4 % to Y4 .3 m from a year earlier. Dongcao said sales of propylene, isopropyl benzene and other olefins fell in the first half of the year, while sales of ethylene rose, but sales of polyethylene fell, as a result of the planned shutdown of the plant. Dongcao's chlor-alkali business increased 2 % to 137.4 billion yen in the first half of the year. It lost Y500 million, compared with Y838 million a year earlier.

India's top performers
PetroIndia's petrochemical operations rose 38 % in the second quarter of the fiscal year ending September 30 from a year earlier to 53.43 billion rupees($867 million). Revenue from the first half of this fiscal year rose 27 per cent from a year earlier to 103.6 billion rupees.
In the second quarter of the fiscal year ending September 30, India's Tata Chemical reported a 91% jump in net profit to Rs. 2.57 billion(about US$ 42 million). Sales revenue increased 10.6 %from the previous year to Rs. 48.03 billion.
Mr. R Mukundan, Tata's general manager, said the second and first half of the fiscal year had been encouraging, with outstanding performance in all of the company's operations and ongoing restructuring plans contributing positively to growth.

Gail India's petrochemicals business grew 13 % in sales in the second quarter of the fiscal year to Rs. 12.8 BN(about $208 M), though Ebit fell about 60 per cent from a year earlier to Rs. 1.55 BN. In the second quarter, Gail India's petrochemical operations produced 119,000 tonnes, up from 114,000 tonnes a year earlier, while sales reached 110,000 tonnes, an increase of 2,000 tonnes.
Income growth in Thailand
The company's third-quarter sales rose 7.5 % from a year earlier to 63.6 billion baht.

Earning 37.2 billion baht for its PET resin business in the third quarter was slightly lower than 38.2 billion baht in the third quarter of last year, while core earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization(Ebitda) reached 1.92 billion baht, down from 1.93 billion baht in the same period last year. In the third quarter, the company's fiber and yarn business generated 18.3 billion baht, up from 11 billion baht a year earlier. Achieving core Ebitda 778 million Baht, compared with 448 million Baht a year earlier. The raw materials business realized 18.4 billion baht, compared with 18.8 billion baht a year earlier; The core Ebitda increased slightly from 1.54 billion Baht in the same period last year to 1.56 billion Baht.

The company said sales and sales rose in the third quarter thanks to recent mergers and acquisitions and the completion of a bottling project for a set of PET units in Poland. The company's CEO, Aloke Lohia, said: "The international price of crude oil has fallen significantly and the market has been a positive stimulus to our PET and fibre demand, while improving the profitability of the company's high-value-added products business. "I don't know.

Siam Cement's chemical unit posted a 10 %year-on-year increase in net profit in the third quarter to 4.2 billion baht. In the third quarter, sales rose 15 % from a year earlier to 64.3 billion baht. Ebitda rose 24 % in the third quarter from a year earlier to 7.6 billion baht. The company sold a total of 447,000 tons of polyolefin in the third quarter.
The company said the increase was due to improved profitability and an appropriate price increase.
 Increased work rate in Malaysia

In the third quarter, Malaysia's oil and chemical company posted a 2.8 % rise in profits from a year earlier to 732 million ringgit(about $220 million). The increase in sales of highly profitable ethyl alkyl products boosted sales to 3.54 billion Baht by 0.6 % year-on-year. In the third quarter, the operating performance of Ma-Guo Oil and Chemical Company improved from 70 % a year earlier to 75 % in the third quarter. The increase in the utilization rate of the plant makes up for the shortage of methane gas at the company's methanol production facilities. The company's output rose in the third quarter as a result of the increased utilization of the plant. Prices for the company's various products varied in the third quarter, with higher prices for vinyl materials driving up the sale of polymer products and higher prices for fertiliser products due to supply constraints, but prices of ethylene glycol, aromatics and methanol fell mainly because of weak demand and overcapacity.

In the third quarter, the sales of olefins and derivatives in the company increased 2.6 % to 2.73 billion ringgit. Profits rose 5.8 %from a year earlier to RM562 million. The olefin and derivatives business, which benefited from a sharp increase in device utilization, jumped to 90 % in the third quarter from 78 % a year earlier. At the same time last year, the company's main steam cracking unit and downstream production facilities were shut down. Revenue from the company's fertiliser and methanol operations fell 6.7 % in the third quarter from a year earlier to RM851 million. Profits fell 8.9 % from a year earlier to RM143 million, mainly due to a decline in sales of products, particularly methanol.