13 May 2010 15:29

Metafrax boosts methanol output by 56% in Q1

PERM. May 13 (Interfax) OJSC Metafrax (Gubakha, Perm Territory) increased methanol output by 55.5% year-on-year to 267,500 tonnes in the first quarter of 2010, the company told Interfax.

The company increased formalin output by 68.1% to 58,200 tonnes while it also reduced carbamide-formaldehyde concentrate output by 11.1% to 34,900 tonnes. The company increased pentaerythritol output by 440% to 4,400 tonnes along with methenamine production, going up by 35.7% to 3,600 tonnes.

"Total sales in comparison with the same period of 2009 increased for all product types with the exception of carbamide-formaldehyde concentrate. This served as the main reason for the increase in sales revenue," a company spokesperson told Interfax.

The company's sales revenue in the first quarter went up by 70% to 1.81 billion rubles while net profit according to Russian accounting standards (RAS) decreased by 41% to 141.1 million rubles. The decrease in net profit had been driven by declining operational revenues, the spokesperson said.

Metafrax is one of Russia's leading producers of methanol and formalin.