Styrene Butadiene Styrene Companies

Styrene Butadiene Styrene Market

November 2023- Japanese chip materials maker JSR Corp on Monday slashed its operating profit forecast for the current financial year by 62%, citing a weak recovery in demand for semiconductors and a slowdown in the biotech market. JSR, which has agreed to be bought by a government-backed fund, now sees a profit of 16 billion yen (USD107 million) in the year ending on March 31, 2024, an 84% fall compared to the same period a year earlier. Investors are debating the recovery path for the chip industry, which a slowdown has hit in demand for electronics such as smartphones and PCs. Leading chipmakers such as TSMC and Samsung Electronics have pointed to a boost from investment in artificial intelligence next year. JSR CEO Eric Johnson told a news conference that they do believe that we have hit the bottom.

October 2023- Fitch Ratings has affirmed Poland-based chemicals company Synthos Spolka Akcyjna's (Synthos) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB' with a Stable Outlook. Fitch has also affirmed the senior secured rating at 'BB+' with a Recovery Rating of 'RR2'. The Stable Outlook reflects Fitch's expectations of deleveraging from 2024 following a material reduction in forecast earnings in 2023 and the company's commitment to conservative financial policy. We expect the improvement in leverage to be achieved following a recovery in end markets, contribution of new capacity across business lines, increased share of EBITDA from the utilities segment, and lack of dividend payments in 2024-2025. The 'BB' rating is constrained by its modest scale, exposure to the transportation and construction sectors, price volatility of butadiene and styrene derivatives, as well as exposure to gas rationing and high energy costs. Rating strengths are its strong position in European market niches, such as the production of synthetic rubber and insulation materials, diversification into the utility segment, a fairly resilient EBITDA margin, backward integration, and access to competitively priced feedstock.

Competitive Landscape: The most prominent major key players in the styrene-butadiene-styrene market in the global market are as follows:

• Versalis S.p.A. (Italy)


• TSRC Corporation (Taiwan)


• Sinopec (China)


• PetroChina (China)


• Kraton Corporation (U.S.)


• BASF SE (Germany)


• Kumho Petrochemical (South Korea)


• Keyuan Petrochemicals (China)


• Dynasol Elastomeros (Europe)


• LCY Chemical (Taiwan)


• LG Chem (South Korea)