Saudi Arabia’s Yansab predicts Q3 'improved demand' after Q2 slump

Saudi Arabia's Yanbu National Petrochemical, or Yansab, expects improved demand for both polypropylene and polyethylene in Asia in the third quarter along with "relative price stability", while monoethylene glycol prices are expected to strengthen, the company said in a July 27 earnings statement.

Yansab's Q2 revenue dropped 16% from a year earlier and 7.8% from Q1, largely due to declines in both the average selling prices of all products and lower sales volume, the company said in the statement to the Saudi stock exchange. Comparing Q2 2025 with Q2 2024, production dropped 5%, sales fell 6% and selling prices declined 10%, it said.

"The global petrochemical industry continues to face mounting pressures due to a combination of influential factors, most notably, market oversupply and a slowdown in industrial demand, particularly in Asia and Europe, which have led to declining profit margins," the company said. "These challenges have been further exacerbated by rising shipping costs and ongoing disruptions in supply chains, in addition to escalating geopolitical tensions that have deepened the sense of uncertainty across global markets."

Yansab is 52% owned by petrochemicals giant SABIC, which has scheduled a Q2 financial results press conference for Aug. 3 and another earnings call for Aug. 4.

Polypropylene demand improved in China and North America in Q2, while "prices of all products were low, although spreads increased slightly," President Wazen al-Solami said in the statement.

Polyethylene global demand was "slightly up on restocking in Europe and lower US prices helping local demand," he said. Demand in Asia for the product was lower on reduced exports of finished products, while prices were lower on "weaker naphtha prices and bearish sentiment."

At the same time, monoethylene glycol demand was "better" in Asia on the "China-US tariff pause," it said. Demand was "muted" in Europe on "competitive" polyethylene terephthalate imports, it said. Prices were lower in Q2 as demand from the polyester sector "retreated," it said.

Yansab's steam cracker can produce 1.3 million mt/year of ethylene and 400,000 mt/year of propylene, according to its website.

Downstream, the company also has the capacity to produce 700,000 mt/year of monoethylene glycol, 400,000 mt/year of low linear density polyethylene, 400,000 mt/year of high density polyethylene and 400,000 mt/year of polypropylene.

Ethylene prices are on the rise after dropping since the start of 2025. Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed the Global Ethylene Index at $754.36/mt on July 25, down from $789.81/mt at the end of 2024.