The year 2021 has been a transformative one under the new ownership structure established in 2020, in which OMV became the majority owner by increasing its stake in Borealis to 75%.
As a transformative year, 2021 has been marked by endeavours central to the three principle goals outlined in the Borealis Group Strategy 2035: Geographical expansion in the form of acquisitions and partnerships, leverage Value Creation through Innovation to develop customer-centric and more circular polyolefins solutions and Leading from the core, building on the unique values and mindset of the Company to ensure that striving for excellence characterises all Borealis activities and efforts.
Borealis continued to make significant progress on its important global growth projects: Borealis and ADNOC signed an historic USD 6.2 billion final investment agreement to build the fourth facility at the Borouge polyolefins manufacturing complex in Ruwais, UAE. In North America, construction on the Baystar™ project in Texas (a 50/50 joint venture between Borealis and TOTAL Petrochemicals & Refining USA, Inc.) is progressing, as is the construction of the new world-scale propane dehydrogenation plant in Kallo, Belgium, despite minor delays due to pandemic-related issues.
A number of strategic projects to further drive the transition from a linear to a circular economy, and reduce the company’s environmental impact, have progressed well or were successfully completed.
| Key figures and ratios | FY 2020 | FY 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Sales | EUR million | 8,476 | 12,342 |
| Net Profit | EUR million | 589 | 1,396 |
| ROCE | % | 8 | 19 |
| Gearing | % | 29 | 3 |
Total Recordable Injuries* (incl. own employees and contractors) | Number/mn. work hours | 1.7 | 2.3 |
*Definitions have been adjusted in 2021 to be aligned with OMV definitions. A comparison to previous years is therefore not possible
With a record net profit of EUR 1.40 billion in 2021, Borealis has achieved outstanding results in an industry environment still affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the first signs of economic recovery became visible at the start of 2021, demand for Borealis polyolefins, primarily in the energy, healthcare and mobility sectors, rose rapidly. The polyolefin share of the integrated polyolefin industry margin reached previously unseen levels due to an increase in demand, also accompanied by ongoing supply constraints due to logistics problems and industry production outages. The olefin industry margin expanded during 2021, albeit not as much as the polyolefin industry margin, as the market tightened on the back of stronger downstream demand in tandem with industry production outages.
Consequently, the hydrocarbons business delivered a profit contribution significantly above 2020 levels, but below those reached in 2019 as the advantage from cracking light feedstock became less favourable. The contribution from Borouge more than doubled from 2020 to 2021, driven by the favourable market development, and despite lower sales volumes due to logistics constraints, especially around mid-year.
Fertilizers sales volumes dropped to 3.91 million tonnes in 2021. This decrease is attributed to the temporary spike in sales at the end of 2020, which reduced demand in the following year, but also to production issues, especially at locations in France. Yet there was improvement in the contribution from the nitrogen business unit, from EUR 7 million in 2020 to EUR 78 million in 2021. A favourable market environment supported this, particularly in the Melamine business, and despite the spike in the price of natural gas.
The Consolidated Non-financial Report 2021 has been prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards: core option, as well as the legal requirements for the publication of a consolidated non-financial report (Section 267a of the Austrian Commercial Code). In 2021, Borealis joined the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). This report covers the 10 universal principles of the UNGC and constitutes the Communication of Progress, reporting on the progress in these areas.
The entire Combined Annual Report 2021 is available for download in English and German language here.
Browse through our Digital Annual Report 2021 here.
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