The Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Corporation has improved its position in the latest ranking released by the Independent Commodity Intelligence Services, which is the world’s largest petrochemical market information provider.
The ICIS 100 Top Chemical Companies in 2020, which reviews the companies' performance during last year, shows Iran’s PGPIC standing at 37th place while the company was ranked 40th in 2019, the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana reported.
PGPIC’s better performance comes despite severe US sanctions on Iran, which prevented access to international funding, and the Covid-19 pandemic that has had a negative impact on many companies and markets.
In 2018, the US Treasury Department announced new sanctions on Iran's petrochemical sector that hit PGPIC as well as its subsidiaries and foreign representatives.
Selling $8.425 billion worth of various products, PGPIC’s operating profit increased by 44.1% to $3.134 billion in 2020 compared to 2019.
With regard to its investment in research and development, the company shows a 6% rise in 2020 in comparison with 2019, which showed continuous investment to develop its competitive edge in global markets.
The Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Corporation is a public holding company. It manages natural gas processing plants and chemical factories, as well as oil and polymer companies.
PGPIC is Iran’s largest petrochemical company with 60 subsidiaries and 11% of the capital market. The company also accounts for 37% of the total domestic petrochemical production.
According to published reports, it is the second biggest petrochemical exporter in the Middle East.
ICIS connects data, markets and customers to create a comprehensive trusted view of global commodities markets, enabling smarter business decisions that help optimize the world’s resources.
The ICIS Top 100 Chemical Companies ranks the world’s largest chemical producers by sales. The listing includes both public and private companies, as well as additional metrics on operating profit, net income, capital expenditures and R&D spending, as well as total assets and number of employees.
According to the latest ranking, which surveyed the performance of 120 companies, Germany-based BASF is the world's largest chemical company with sales of $72.3 billion in 2020, down just 0.3% versus 2019.
China-based Sinopec is second with $57 billion in chemical sales, followed by US-based Dow with $38.5 billion, UK-based INEOS with $33.6 billion and US-based LyondellBasell with $27.8 billion, in the third to fifth places.
“2020 saw unprecedented disruptions from Covid-19 which led to significant sales declines, especially for commodity chemicals producers. However, the industry rose to the challenge, meeting demand for personal protective equipment, hygiene products and food and other packaging,” said Joseph Chang, global editor of ICIS Chemical Business.
The ICIS Top 100 data show an average sales decline of 34% in 2020 for the diverse and global group of chemical companies. Operating profits fell on average close to 25% year-on-year for those that posted profits, noted ICIS Insight Editor Nigel Davis.
The plunge in sales and profits in the first half of 2020 was followed by a sharp rebound in the second half and into 2021.
“Supply chain disruption was a major factor pushing commodity chemical prices higher through the second half of 2020, as demand growth started to return in end-use markets,” said Davis.
