Castellon (Spain), October 10, 2022
• At the end of fiscal year 2021, the consolidated results of UBE Corporation Europe experienced a strong increase driven by the higher value of production and sustained demand in some of its main markets. The group achieved sales of 544 million euro and a profit after taxes of 34.
• Employment remained stable, with a total of 613 people, of which 559 work in the two production centers in the Castellon province.
• With the end of the 2021 financial year, marked by the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, the vertiginous increase in energy costs, demand adjustments and the volatility in the prices of raw materials, the current period is developing with many uncertainties.
The higher value of production as a result of the general increase in the cost of raw materials and a sustained demand for much of 2021 have led to a record turnover, which reached 544 million euro, and a recovery in Ebitda and Profit after taxes, 60 and 34 million respectively, below the maximum reached in 2018.
The evolution of the markets has been uneven, with a positive behavior in those linked to agri-food transformation, agricultural production, the chemical industry or various manufactures, which have contributed to a stable demand for polyamides for food protection, fertilizers and fine chemicals; while the automotive sector has not recovered its strength, negatively affecting sales of polymers and special compounds.
The end of the 2021 financial year on March 31 has been marked by the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, the dizzying increase in energy costs, and volatility in the prices of raw materials, factors that are cooling demand. In a situation of general uncertainty due to the evolution of the global economy, the manufacturing industry seems to be reaching its limit of capacity to assume the rises in the costs of raw materials, which generates a slowdown in demand, waiting for changes in the environment.
During much of the 2021 financial year, the progressive reduction in the incidence of Covid has made it possible to stabilize production activity and reactivate participation in fairs and commercial promotion trips. Exports have absorbed 69% in UBE Corporation Europe and 52% in Repol, Europe being the geographical area where they are mainly directed.
Investments reached 23 million euro, leaving the total for the 2019-2021 triennium at 53 million, slightly below the 57 expected. The difference is due to the accumulated delay in some projects caused by mobility limitations in 2020 because of Covid. For the period 2022 – 2024, UBE has a medium-term investment plan for an amount of 95 million euro in the two production plants that the group has in the province of Castellón, with 25% allocated to safety and environmental improvement projects.
During the 2021 financial year, UBE Corporation Europe has launched its Policy for Carbon Neutrality, committing to reach a level of zero net greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions in 2050. As an intermediate milestone of said objective and after the implementation of various energy efficiency projects and operational improvements, the company has achieved a reduction of more than 25% compared to the base year 2010 in scope 1 GHG emissions (direct emissions produced by burning fuels) and scope 2 (indirect emissions from the electricity generation, steam, heating and cooling purchased). It is noteworthy that the electricity purchased by UBE and Repol is of 100% renewable origin.
Likewise, UBE has several lines of innovation projects related to the life cycle of plastic (study of the origin of substances, minimization of environmental impacts during production, recycling and biodegradability of food packages containing nylon…) to promote a business model that contributes to alleviate the proliferation and inadequate management of plastic waste and favor the transition towards the circular economy. R&D projects, in its own or in consortia, are complemented by teaching, research and knowledge dissemination activities carried out by the UBE Chair in Sustainable Plastics at the Universitat Jaume I of Castellon, instituted last December.
At the end of the year, the group directly employed 613 people (559 in the province of Castellón) with 24% female staff and more than 98% permanent contracts. Additionally, throughout fiscal year 2021 UBE has outsourced services with an average equivalent to 330 full-time jobs.
