Germany-based BASF is the world's largest chemical company with sales of $72.3 billion in 2020, down just 0.3% versus 2019, according to ICIS Top 100 Chemical Companies listing of global producers ranked by 2020 sales.
China-based Sinopec was second with $57.0 billion in chemicals sales, followed by US-based Dow in third with $38.5 billion in revenues, UK-based Ineos with $33.6 billion in chemicals sales and US-based LyondellBasell with $27.8 billion in sales.
Saudi Arabia’s Sabic with $27.15 billion in sales is in the seventh position.
“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 (PPE), 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 Nigel Davis, ICIS Insight Editor.
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.
The ICIS Top 100 Chemical Companies listing has charted the progress of the world’s major chemical companies for decades, but the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on the sector have been exceptional.
Crisis management teams were deployed early on with the focus on the safety of employees and on essential operations. Companies had to move fast to address what has been described by one senior industry executive as the defining event of the year. It is an event that remains with the industry.
Companies responded by shifting production where possible to essential chemicals - those required for sanitation and to help maintain health and safety, for example.
Initially, the demand for disposable items such as face masks, medical gowns and gloves soared. Some companies were able to repurpose production facilities to make more widely needed disinfecting and sanitising chemicals.
Demand for food packaging and other types of packaging remained strong, even increasing in some cases. As the year progressed, companies were reacting to rising demand for durable goods, as individuals became more eager to spend.
Operations were maintained by companies globally, but the impact of the coronavirus on economic activity hit chemical sales hard. Industry data show chemical production declining by 0.17% for the year.
The ICIS Petrochemical Index (IPEX) was falling before the pandemic, but dropped sharply from January to a low point in April. The price rebound, from May, however, was spectacular and has continued through 2021.
Chemicals demand, sustained by demand for essential products, grew later in 2020 as packaging growth was complemented by increased sales, in many countries, of durable goods. As large parts of the world came out of a first-phase lockdown, activity resumed in important end-use sectors for chemicals such as construction and automotive.
The ICIS Top 100 data show an average sales decline for the leading 119 companies in the industry of 34% in 2020, but there are significant differences between individual companies, operating in very different industry segments and geographies and with different financial years.
Some major producers, particularly those focused on upstream petrochemicals and polymers and certain intermediates, registered year-on-year sales declines of the order of 10% or more, with many well over.
Producers more focused on chemicals downstream, particularly certain specialties, fared much better in a still difficult year, a handful producing a sales increase.
The more diversified players were able to balance out the pressure on sales. Meanwhile, earlier mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity played a part in buoying revenues for some companies in the Top 100 listing.
Showa Denko, for example, reported a 60% sales increase for the year as Showa Denko Materials Ltd was newly consolidated from the third quarter of 2020. Sales for the company’s existing businesses in inorganics and petrochemicals were down.
Quaker Chemical and Houghton International combined in July 2019 and the new group reported a 25% sales increase in 2020.
