By Brazil Stock Guide – Braskem S.A. (B3: BRKM5) faced another challenging quarter as global petrochemical markets remained pressured, with spreads declining across most regions and products. The company’s third-quarter operational report showed falling utilization rates and weaker margins in Brazil and Mexico, partly offset by stable performance in the United States and Europe.
The company’s ethylene utilization rate in Brazil fell to 65%, down 9 percentage points from the prior quarter, reflecting maintenance downtime at the Rio de Janeiro petrochemical complex and reduced domestic demand. Resin sales dropped 5% quarter-on-quarter and 9% year-on-year, while green ethylene utilization plunged to 40% as Braskem managed biopolymer inventories.
In Mexico, utilization slipped to 47% after a planned shutdown at the Braskem Idesa complex, though the startup of the Puerto México terminal began supplying ethane and helped reduce reliance on the costlier Fast Track solution.
“The quarter reflected global oversupply and weak demand in key downstream sectors like construction and packaging,” the company said. “Lower spreads and maintenance activities impacted production volumes in all regions.”
In the United States and Europe, polypropylene (PP) plant utilization improved to 79% from 74%, supported by inventory normalization. Still, PP spreads dropped 4% from the previous quarter and 8% year-on-year. In Brazil and South America, resin spreads fell 8% sequentially to $355 per ton, and key chemical spreads slid 3%. In Mexico, polyethylene spreads remained flat at $724 per ton but were 27% lower than a year earlier due to higher ethane costs.
The report underscores how persistent oversupply, weak global industrial activity, and volatile feedstock prices continue to squeeze margins for the world’s largest biopolymer producer. Despite modest energy cost relief — Brent crude averaged $69/bbl and natural gas $3.03/MMBtu — the combination of low demand and elevated inventories across regions kept petrochemical spreads near multi-year lows.