Sales breakdown 2004 - Solvay

Plastics Sector
Vinyls
(polyvinyl chlorides, performance compounds,
industrial films and Pipelife, a 50/50 joint venture
with Wienerberger in pipes and fittings).
In 2004 world demand for PVC grew by 5.4% to 27 million
tonnes. This strong growth once again came from every
region of the world. China again stood out with growth of
15% and consumption of close on 7 million tonnes, higher
than that of Western Europe.
With such heavy demand, worldwide supply became
strained for all vinyls products, from raw materials (ethylene,
EDC, VCM, etc.) and utilities (gas, electricity, etc.) through
to finished and semi-finished products. This tension was
expressed differently from one activity to another.
In PVC, margins improved significantly in the second
half of 2004, with results much improved from 2003.
In a favourable European environment, SolVin
(75% Solvay and 25% BASF) was able to maximize
production, thanks to the reliability of its plants and its
strong organization.
31
Global Annual Report Solvay 2004
– successful launch of the first fuel tanks for Toyota in
Thailand, and launch preparation work in South Africa
and Argentina;
– launch of the tank for the new series 1 BMW;
– nomination for three PZEV models (meeting California
fuel emission standards, among the strictest in the world);
– agreements in China to take a majority stake in YAPP,
the region’s leading producer of plastic fuel tanks.
SolVin is relentlessly strengthening its competitiveness by
concentrating activity on world-size units. This led it to
announce the closing of its small Ludwigshafen unit at the
end of 2005.
Eastern Europe has also contributed to Western European
demand for PVC through fast-rising imports of semifinished
products (such as profiles, floor coverings, pipes
and fittings).
Key figures [EUR million]
2002 2003 2004
Sales Plastics 1 937 1 802 2 198
Processing 1 479 1 413 1 434
REBIT Plastics 247 155 330
Processing 80 70 67
Depreciation Plastics 100 110 121
Processing 107 66 69
Capital expenditures Plastics 204 114 166
Processing 91 73 68
R&D Plastics 54 55 53
Processing 23 17 22
Headcount (FTE) [1] Plastics 5 236 5 194 5 394
Processing 6 088 6 068 5 682
[1] Full-time equivalents at 1 January of the following year.