C4 producer announces results

ERJ staff report (DS)

Houston, texas -- TPC Group Inc. a producer of value-added products derived from niche petrochemical raw materials such as C4 hydrocarbons, has announced its 2011 first quarter results.

For the first quarter of 2011, the Company generated revenue of $555.6 million, an increase of 39 percent versus revenue of $400.7 in the prior year quarter. The increase reflects the positive impact of 27 percent higher average selling prices due to rising commodity prices across most of the company's product line portfolio, and a 10 percent increase in volume due to higher feedstock availability and operational improvements.

"While crude C4 supplies have been constrained due to light cracking, limiting our volume growth in our C4 processing segment in the near term, we expect to continue to see strong demand and pricing fundamentals in this segment, particularly in demand for synthetic rubber and polyethylene," commented Mike McDonnell, President and CEO. "As an illustration of the strong pricing environment, the April price for butadiene in North America increased $0.17 per pound from March, and the May contract has settled at $1.41 a pound, up $0.20 per pound or 17 percent from April. Unleaded regular gasoline has shown recent volatility, but should remain strong into the summer months.

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Press release from TPC