Blog - Surfactant related news and opinion

Apr 04
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Surfactants Monthly – March 2022

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Surfactants Monthly – March 2022 Before we jump straight into the news: Please consider registering for our surfactants in-person event in May (10 – 11) in Jersey City, NJ. If you missed ACI in Orlando this year, now’s the chance to get back on the circuit, to meet old friends and new, to talk shop, to make deals, to learn a heck of a lot, to see who won the awards, to have a laugh and a joke and listen to some great music and just generally get back to normal. Everyone else will be there, pretty much, so.. yeah you should register, I think – Here’s the link. https://events.icis.com/ehome/worldsurfactants/home/ News: I know most of you have been waiting on literal tenterhooks (not sure what tenterhooks are but I think you get it) to hear the next installment of the Activist Shareholder / Marmite Maker – Nelson Peltz / Unilever corporate thriller. Well, nothing much has happened in the past month as far as I can see from my searching of the financial press. So, OK, we can seek solace in the pages of the Daily Mail which can be relied upon to write about (and picture) Peltz daughter Nicola…

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Mar 05
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Surfactants Monthly – February 2022

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Surfactants Monthly – February 2022 It often feels weird writing about surfactants when there are huge other things going on in the world. Then I think, yeah but who wants to hear from me about the affairs of the day. Everyone has their own opinions and the news surrounds us 24/7. I also think that, if the business of surfactants is how you’ve bought (OK still buying) a house and sent (still sending) some kids to college, then that’s a huge thing so.. And I think that, at least folks read this business blog and get something out of it. Some even find the humorous bits funny and one or two enjoy the musical interludes. If I told you what I think about Ukraine, I’m not sure you’d gain anything at all and maybe you’d resent the airspace here being taken up with something that doesn’t add to what you get on the telly or your newsfeed. I will say, though, that I have a concern about World War 3. I hear the phrase used at least once a day, these days. Having read and heard enough about WW2, I think 3 would be bad. The technology’s more effective and…

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Jan 28
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Surfactants Monthly – January 2022

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Surfactants Monthly – January 2022 Back In Person Like many others in our industry, I’ll be marking the end of the pandemic and the beginning of the endemic with a trip to Florida and the American Cleaning Institute Meeting. That may or may not be wishful thinking. Not the going to Florida part. That will have happened as of your reading this. The endemic part. That’s when you stop writing and talking about it except in the historical sense – like “hey do you remember that.. can you believe we were doing … such and such”. Let’s see. By the way, you’ll get no gossip or tittle-tattle from the ACI in this blog. Our motto is, as you know, that “you gotta be there”.  So.. Another place you gotta be is our great ICIS / Neil A Burns LLC World Surfactant Conference, which is back in person in Jersey City, NJ May 9 – 11th. It’s 1.5 day conference and a 1 day optional course. Of course, we also have the great Surfactants Awards for which nominations are now open. After two years of, frankly, unsatisfying meetings over zoom and somewhat nervous get-togethers at various meetings, I am really looking…

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Jan 02
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Surfactants Monthly New Year 2022

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December 2021 / New Year – Monthly Surfactants Happy New Year As promised, we have here our monthly blog for the remaining part of December and an end of year short story. The story is set on New Year’s Eve and starts in the control room of a specialty chemical plant. If you don’t want to be bothered with the story and associated moralizing, you can skip straight to the news section which is clearly marked. OK? So here we go then… Oh and by the way, the story is fiction. It’s not based on any real events or places. Although – you may recognize some characters, thoughts and feelings from your own life. Alright here we go… The Story Emerald – A New Year’s Eve Short Story John gazed at the pale green screen. It yielded nothing of interest. Nothing at all really. No phones. No books or magazines even, allowed in the plant control room at Veritas Chemical, ever. Not even New Year’s Eve, when basically nothing was happening. Well, nothing that the control room cared about. There was some last-minute shipment being drummed off out there for a customer in Thailand or Taiwan or someplace round the…

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Dec 12
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Surfactants Christmas 2021 Double Issue

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Christmas Double Issue December 2021 The cynics among you may conclude that we’re calling this a Christmas Double Issue because we’re very late publishing the November blog. And the cynics would, on this rare occasion, be right. The last few weeks have been tough for reasons good and bad and so this blog – gives you the news up to mid-December and includes some Christmas musings. We’ll be back in January though, so don’t worry. You’ll get your money’s worth! By the way, don’t forget to save the date. May 9 – 11th for our great 2022 World Surfactants Conference. Live and in-person in Jersey City, NJ. Same great place and bigger and better than ever. More details to all registered blog readers, very soon. Christmas Musings: I’m standing outside our lab in Connecticut, waiting for a car. It’s late, dark and cold. It’s been a physically, mentally and spiritually demanding week. Not that different from a lot of weeks you have in the course of your daily business – but I’m beat and ready to get home to a nice warm fireplace and dinner and wife and night’s sleep. A minivan pulls up. Chrysler, old-ish model, a bit dirty,…

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Oct 31
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Surfactants Monthly – October 2021

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Surfactants Monthly – October 2021 Great month for surfactants. We had our European and Asian Surfactants Conference – a huge success. And we were able to announce that the the next conference will be live and in person 9 – 11th of May of 2022 in Jersey City, NJ. Stay tuned and we’ll get further information to all registered blog readers. So – let’s see. There’s a lot going on with Sasol these days, which we heard about at the conference and which they also talked about at their capital markets day. Check out  the details at the end of the post. You’ll also notice, as you read through the news, that there is a lot of talk about inflation and supply chain disruptions. Shortages, high prices, stuff like that. Even Stepan’s mighty surfactant machine experienced problems this year as they discussed on their earnings call (see below). Hmm.. we went back to Manhattan for the first dinner / play / night-over since the pandemic. One thing struck me – the aroma of the city. It’s changed from what it was a couple of years ago. Today the prevalent aroma is one of marijuana and urine. Pot and piss, you…

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Oct 02
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Surfactants Monthly – September 2021

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September 2021 – Surfactants Monthly For Blog Readers Only We’re starting with a commercial for the upcoming European and Asian Surfactants Conference – Online – October 26th and 27th. I have a $100 promo-code only for readers of this blog only. Just use WSC21NB500 at checkout and you get $100 off the registration. I’m told that this is now the only way to get registered at less than the full price. So – don’t say I never give you nowt! Check out the conference here or just go straight to registration here. We have some great new speakers and panelists from companies including: Sasol Reckitt Benckiser Clariant Ecover / Method IP Specialites Vespucci Locus Jiahua Godrej Arzeda ICOS Capital (invested in Holiferm) Mintel Flini Colt & Willow So register here and use the promo-code WSC21NB500 to get $100 off. Great right? Blog readers only. I’ve always wanted to say that. As always, of course, I am producing and chairing the event and we will learn a lot and have a bit of fun along the way. See you there. End of commercial. Start of some pre-news musings. I’ve spent a bit of time listening to 2 heavy metal bands this…

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Sep 05
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Surfactants Monthly – August 2021

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Can I just have a minute for a quick commercial before we start? Our Asian and European Surfactant Conference will be online and coming up soon, October 26th and 27th. Details and registration here. We’ll talk oleo, EO, logistics, computational design (yeah I know right?), carbon capture and much more. We have a huge keynote from Sasol and a bunch of other special guests. I co-produce and chair as usual and so, yes, I’m biased. But you should still register. Thanks for your attention. Lots of news this month, so let’s get stuck in. First up Hurricane Ida. Your blogger was fortunate enough to only experience a minor inconvenience from the storm having to spend an extra day in San Diego before getting home. Others lost their homes, businesses, and lives – along the gulf coast and in the Northeast. The chemical industry, as usual, reminded us how the concentrated their risk profile is in North America. ICIS maintains a truly excellent topic page on Ida here.  We learn that about 2.64% of the US chemical supply was taken offline by the hurricane, including 3 Million MT of ethylene capacity. In further analysis by Janet Miranda, ICIS noted that: Producers,…

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Aug 02
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Surfactants Monthly – July 2021

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Surfactants Monthly Review July 2021 The Intro Section (not much surfactant news here): Access your calendar and mark the following please: May 19 – 20th, 2022. The 12th World Surfactants Conference. Our current thinking is to do it again in Jersey City – where it’s been for the last 10 years. However, we’re open to ideas – such as Miami or Houston. What do you think? Rest assured that, wherever the venue, it will be at a first class hotel with superb facilities and of course the content will continue to be just what you want – and what you simply can’t get anywhere else. It will be an event of friendly engagement, innovation, business-dealing and, yes, love. There I said it. And look, I know many of you, like me, engage in our daily business for money. But it’s not only for the money is it? There’s some other set of motivators and one of those is love. Love for the challenge, the technology, the surprises, the people – customers, suppliers, co-workers, even competitors.  Here’s something I’ve been thinking about. I’ve listened to some podcasts recently on the subject of psychedelics (e.g. Lex Fridman – check it out). One…

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Jul 04
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Surfactants Monthly – June 2021

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Surfactants Monthly – June 2021 Huge month for news, again. Lots happening with Oxiteno, Indorama, BASF, Colonial Chemical, Stepan, Amyris, M&A and much more. Before we get to that – this: Heads-up! This is to all the renewable and sustainable brands out there. Kylie Jenner is coming to your party and your life won’t be the same again. Regular readers of the blog know of my fascination with the Kardashians and know also that it is not born of prurient interest. Their influence on the culture and therefore our business is significant. Back in May of this year, Kylie Cosmetics swept its Instagram completely clean and posted a single photo of Kylie Jenner with the caption, “something is coming,” After two months of waiting, Jenner finally, on July 1st, revealed what she’s been working on with her billion-dollar brand. From here on, we’re quoting the IG post “The new @kyliecosmetics is coming JULY 15, 9am pst on KylieCosmetics.com! Everything is clean, vegan, and ready to go global. This means no animal oils, parabens or gluten, and we banned a list of over 1,600 other ingredients from being used in products, but made sure everything has amazing pigmentation and performance.” Let…

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May 30
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Surfactants Monthly – May 2021

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Surfactants Monthly – May 2021 It’s not Science Fiction That was the quote “it’s not science fiction” that sealed it for me. It was spoken by David Grainger of Unilever during his keynote address on Thursday morning of our World Surfactant Conference last week. What did it seal? For me it sealed the fact that this was one of the most consequential conferences I have ever attended (let alone co-produced with my partners at ICIS). David was talking about Unilever Homecare’s commitment to eliminate the use of fossil fuels in cleaning and laundry products by 2030. That’s a big deal because, as David went on to detail, Unilever Homecare’s ingredients are mostly made from fossil-fuels – and furthermore, over half the greenhouse gas impact of Homecare is driven by ingredient choice. And of course, what is the #1 ingredient by weight and volume? Yep, right, so… a huge deal. David went on to provide some incredibly impactful information and insights, as well as previews of what’s to come from Unilever in meeting this self-imposed challenge within the next 8 years. And that’s as far as I can take you my dear reader. As you know, my philosophy is: “You gotta…

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May 02
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Monthly Surfactants – April 2021

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Surfactants Monthly – April 2021 Later this month – May 25th – 27th, we have our 11th World Surfactants Conference. It’s online. Co-produced, as always,  between your author and ICIS. We’ve got P&G, American Chemistry Council, Buss, IP, Integrity Biochem, Kline, Stepan and many many more participants with papers, panels and, of course, the famous surfactants awards which bring you the best and brightest in the indusry. Sign up and you can still get the cheap rate until May 7th. End of commercial. If you’re only here for the music – and I happen to know that’s a meaningful minority of you, skip to the end, where we muse on the incredible catalogue of Black Sabbath. Ever wondered what it takes to become the category defining best-in-the-world at something? One way – create the category, which is of course what Black Sabbath did. One can imagine some early 70’s movie director saying “hey get me one of those, like, heavy metal guitarist type guys, from central casting” and out would trot Tony Iommi. But of course, that would never happen because heavy metal was just invented in 1970 with the release of the first Black Sabbath album, largely written by…

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Apr 04
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Surfactants Monthly – March 2021

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Surfactants Monthly – March 2021 Happy Easter and Passover. A time of deliverance and re-birth for many of our readers and perhaps my favourite time of year. By the way, I can’t help noting that this month is chock full of news – kinda-like those Easter egss full of Cadbury’s buttons.. Before I muse further (scroll to the end), commercial needs dictate that I mention our upcoming online surfactants conference on 25th – 27th of May. Visit the link and check it out and register to attend. It’s not free, this time,  but it’s worth the price of admission. As a foretaste, if you like, or indeed a sort of literary foreshadowing of what we’ll be dealing with at the event, there is an interview of me by the great Rochelle Ross of ICIS, that you can access at this link. You’ll have to give your contact info to ICIS to see it but don’t worry, they are GDPR, strict constructionists and will not abuse your data – at all. You might have noticed that in our Linkedin group (you’re not a member?!?! Join now, please.) a bit of activity with polls. Here are some interesting results – much of…

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Mar 01
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Surfactants Monthly – February 2021

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Surfactants Monthly February 2021 For a short month, February had a lot of news. Of course, the biggest was related to the extreme low temperatures in Texas and surrounding areas and the impact on the chemical industry. Rather than detail it all here – if it affected you directly, you were tracking real-time – I’ll just note 2 things. First –  S&P’s Platts reported last week something that caught our attention. The extreme weather knocked 75% of all 40 million mt/year of US ethylene capacity offline, including 100% of ethylene capacity in Texas.  The vulnerability of the US Gulf Coast to weather events is not news. Neither is the concentration of a strategically important industry in this area. Reminders come around every so many years, usually in the form of Hurricanes, including recently Katrina / Rita in 2005, Ike in 2008 and Harvey in 2017. There’s an admonition about having too many really important things in one place – erm.. something about eggs. Well, those strategically important chemical eggs are all crammed into a very fragile, weather-beaten basket and, among other things, it’s a national security risk. Second – for the real nitty gritty useful detail, you gotta go to…

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Jan 30
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Surfactants Monthly – January 2021

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Surfactants Monthly – January 2021 Well, it was a bit different to last January, eh? No meetings in Orlando and that nice mid-winter golf outing on the Sunday. But look, most of us are working, getting a nice salary and not facing foreclosure, eviction and bankruptcy unlike folks in some industries.  Something here for you to look forward to: Our upcoming slate of surfactants conferences for ’21 – still online.  We have i) World on 25 – 27th May and ii) EU/Asia on 9 – 10th November. Go to the site for more information . We also have the training courses starting March 9th.  Right now, we are not taking registrations, but you can “register interest” here . So you might want to do that. I want to  highlight particularly the awards. We are re-launching and refurbishing these as they are becoming a hugely popular feature. By the way, if you want to see what I looked like without a haircut in the first US lockdown in 2020 see the video I recorded to outline our training courses. If you’d rather not, you can get all the key information on the site, without, thankfully, having to see the video. This…

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Jan 05
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December 2020 – Monthly Review

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December 2020 – Monthly Surfactants Review Happy New Year, my dear readers and thanks for all your great comments and expressions of support over the past year. Every time, someone tells me they read these blogs, I get a bit of a chill. It’s excitement mingled with some pride, obviously but also a bit of nervousness. If folks are really reading this stuff, it had better be good – or at the very least, not boring. The one commandment I have for our blog here is “above all, do not be boring”. If this ever happens, please do let me know, won’t you? A great clutch of news items this month. As always, most of the news is provided courtesy of my good friends at ICIS. I get no recompense from them for promoting their service, but, as you know, we produce a series of conferences together. In any case, if you like what you read here or experience at the conferences, you should subscribe to their stuff. Fair enough? Spoiler alert: The end of the blog contains what I believe to the biggest news of the month, if not the year – out of Brazil. It’s not too surprising…

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Dec 06
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Surfactants Monthly – November 2020

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Surfactants Monthly November 2020 We had an election. I checked outside every morning this past month. The sun rises (eventually) and when I step onto the cold bathroom tile and extend my left hand to flick the light switch, the lights light, every, single, time. Turn on the shower and, wow, beautiful hot/warm/turbulent-flow water at just-the-right pressure gushes forth, releasing also a rather pleasant steam cloud – just like the past thousands of mornings. I step into the plate glass enclosure (is this getting too graphic for you? Don’t worry, we cherish our G-rating at the blog) and confront 5 different body washes and soaps at eye-level. I ignore all of them and grab my Irish Spring off its own shelf. Aaah the fragrant aroma of the old country… top o’ the morning to you, world. I stretch a vocal chord or two and summon one of the household gods. Alexa, play the best guitarist. Bucky Pizzarelli fills the translucent temple with a glissando. Alexa – not funny. Dave, Michael, Alex and Eddie enter stage left and ..tcchmff, tttlnk, tttlnk, waoawohhhhng.. Eruption erm, well, erupts into consciousness. Pulse quickens. Four-decade old memories float up, of a younger, leaner, more testosterone-drenched…

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Nov 01
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Surfactants Monthly – October 2020

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October 2020 – Monthly Review What a month! Another record for basic surfactants but – what will we all be doing at the end of January? We won’t, most likely, be in Orlando, FL as the ACI has made the prudent decision to go virtual for their annual meeting. Not unexpected but I’m sure I’ll miss being there in person and I expect you will too. No matter, the industry as a whole does great and continue to …. what? You know.. “make civilization civilized”. Our next surfactant event comes up in about a week on November 10th. It’s the digital European and Asian Surfactant Conference. It’s free, but you have to register or you may be locked out for platform capacity reasons. Register here. Here’s something to think about. I’ve been in and around surfactants for almost 40 years. And, like most people, I’ve been a daily surfactant user for almost 60 years. I still meet people that cannot even pronounce the word surfactants – and that includes some lifelong friends. Now and again, I’ll come across someone (not in the course of business) who knows what they are and what they do and that our entire civilized world…

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Oct 04
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Surfactants Monthly – September 2020

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Surfactants Monthly September 2020 There’s a lot to cover this month and so – straight into the news: Some minor news first from Sasol. We’ll cover the big news at the end of the column, for which this picture is a summary: Early in September, Sasol expected power to be restored to its Lake Charles site in Louisiana by early to mid-October, the company said in a statement.  The site has been shut since 25 August, ahead of Hurricane Laura.  “The critical path for startup is restoring reliable external electrical power service from Entergy, Sasol’s local provider,” Sasol said in the emailed statement.  “Entergy currently expects full load service, industrial-level reliability power will be available to Sasol and other industrial partners in Lake Charles by early-to-mid October,” Sasol added. “Sasol’s site damage assessment is well-advanced as well as debris removal from site,” the company said. “Sasol will communicate the repair scope and estimated timelines when complete.  “We can confirm there was wind damage to the cooling towers as well as some insulation and building damage but maintain no apparent damage to major process equipment at this stage.”  The company said several hundred contractors are performing cleanup and restoration work to…

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Sep 07
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Surfactants Monthy August 2020

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Surfactants Monthly August & Early September 2020 First the ads: Our 2020 surfactants conference, September 16 – 18th  is online and free (free of charge – yes that’s right!). Go to this link and register. You gotta register. Can’t just show up on the day. There is a practical limit to how many people can be accommodated on the platform. I don’t know what that is but we have well over 500 already. Sign up. https://www.icisevents.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=200176800& That’s all the ads I have for you this week. From here on it’s solid red meat – that is news. No music or musings this time. We’ll have some of that at the conference. The news: As expected, Oxiteno had a pretty good second quarter as ICIS reported. Second-quarter operating income was positive versus a loss from the same period in 2019 because sales rose faster than costs (ah yes, that is the way to do it, I’m told). The following shows the company’s financial performance. Figures are in millions of reais (R). Rm Q2 20 Q2 19 % Sales 1,201.0 1,066.3 12.6 Cost of goods 973.1 901.4 8.0 Gross profit 227.9 165 38.1 Operating income 50.1 -7.2 – Source: Oxiteno Oxiteno attributed…

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