EQUATE Petrochemical Company announces USD 276 million net profit in 2003

KUN0071 4 GEN 0254 KUWAIT /KUNA-CVT6 PWR-EQUATE-PROFITS EQUATE Petrochemical Company announces USD 276 million net profit in 2003 KUWAIT, March 16 (KUNA) -- EQUATE Petrochemical Company announced on Tuesday that it achieved a net profit of USD 276 million for 2003, a statement by the company announced following a meeting of the general assembly of the company. "The Net profit for the Company in 2003 was USD 276 million. This was a record profit for the Company since its start up and 160 percent more than the profit of the year 2002," EQUATE President and CEO Hamad Al Terkait said in the statement. The general assembly of EQUATE has approved a dividend distribution to the shareholders after allocating the required reserves. "The year 2003 was a banner year for the company with excellent all-round results," Al Terkait disclosed. "Simply, it was the Year of Records, we kept our promise to our customers, employees and our stake holders and we are very proud of our accomplishments". "During 2003, many significant milestones were surpassed. Topping the list is the safety and security of our people and environment", Al-Terkait added. "EQUATE sustained its safety record and achieved 5.8 Million safe work hours during the year. It is to be noted that in 2003 we have also included our contractor laborers (who represent about 30 percent of our total workforce) into our safe-work-hour count. Even with such a calculation we have achieved a Recordable Injury (RI) Frequency rate of 0.30, Al-Terkait said. Despite an uncertain start to the year as the threat of war loomed in the region and the scarcity of feedstock supply increased, the company quickly took charge of the challenge and responded with an aggressive attitude and relentless hard work to mitigate safety risks and ensure uninterrupted production as well as guarantee delivery of products to its customers, he said The statement said that despite the fact that noted that The business climate in 2003 was volatile and unpredictable at best and world economies were slow to recover due to conflict in Gulf and slow global growth, EQUATE was able to keep its commitments to its customers and ensure delivery of products with minimum delays. EQUATE's total sales in 2003 continued to grow for the sixth consecutive year topping all previous peaks. Strong demand strengthened commodity prices and gave us an added advantage this year. Price stability and higher production levels and controlled operating costs differentiated our earnings and enabled us to surpass our profitability goals. He said that EQUATE provided exemplary employment opportunities for Kuwaiti nationals. As for the future plans of the company, Al-Terkait said that EQUATE is positioning itself for growth in 2004 as the expansion project takes on shape and presents new and exciting challenges. He said that the company also plans to reengineer some of its processes with a view of emphasizing efficiency and cost-effectiveness. In short we foresee an 'elite year' for EQUATE in 2004," said Al-Terkait. The company is a leading producer of ethylene glycol and a broad variety of linear-low and high-density polyethylene. Ethylene glycol is a key intermediate for polyester fiber and container resin. Polyethylene is used in a broad variety of packaging and agricultural film and container molding applications. EQUATE was established in 1995 as a joint venture between Government-owned Petrochemical Industries Company and Union Carbide Corporation, which is now a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company. Each holds 45 percent ownership with the additional 10 percent held by Boubyan Petrochemical Company, a publicly traded company on the Kuwait Stock Exchange. (end) bk KUNA 161706 Mar 04NNNN