2024 Global Top 100 Chemical Companies Analysis Report

【Answer 1】 1. Overview of Business Operations and Revenue of the World’s Top 100 Chemical Companies 1.1 Background and Summary Based on the '2024 Global Top 50 Chemical Companies' list published by the U.S. Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), ICIS’s latest '2024 Global Top 100 Chemical Companies' ranking, and individual corporate annual reports, this report identifies and analyzes the top 100 global chemical enterprises most closely linked to petrochemicals and new materials. It examines each company’s revenue and profit across relevant product lines, aiming to dissect the business portfolios of representative global chemical firms and provide reference insights for high-quality development of China’s chemical industry. 1.2 Corporate Revenue and Business Analysis The combined 2023 revenue of the Global Top 100 Chemical Companies totaled USD 1.25 trillion. BASF ranked first with USD 74.5 billion in revenue, while Israel Chemicals ranked 100th with USD 1.227 billion; the average revenue among the Top 100 was USD 12.53 billion. Regarding total net profit and net profit margin: the Top 100 generated a combined net profit of USD 107.835 billion in 2023. Calculating the average net profit margin as (total net profit / total revenue) yields 8.61%; alternatively, averaging each company’s individual net profit margin yields 9.09%. Classifying the Top 100 companies by net profit margin reveals: – 12 companies with net margins above 20%: Linde Gas, DuPont, Bayer, Solvay, Syngenta, FMC, Cabot, Shin-Etsu Chemical, Ashland, Innospec, Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO), and Israel Chemicals—indicating strong profitability; – 33 companies with margins between 10% and 20%; – 23 companies with margins between 5% and 10%; – 24 companies with margins between 0% and 5%; and – 8 companies reporting negative net margins—reflecting poor operational performance. Notably, several lower-ranked companies on the list exhibit relatively modest overall revenue but comparatively high net margins—for example, Ashland, Innospec, QAPCO, and Israel Chemicals. Their products share two key characteristics: ① “Small but excellent”: niche markets with limited scale but robust revenues—for instance, Ashland’s life sciences and personal care products; Innospec’s porous carbon materials; and Israel Chemicals’ flame retardants. ② Raw material advantages: e.g., QAPCO’s integrated petrochemical feedstock base. I) Analysis of the 12 Most Profitable Companies (Net Margin ≥20%): Shin-Etsu Chemical: Its electronic materials, functional materials, and PVC businesses all demonstrate strong profitability, with respective net margins of 32%, 20%, and 31.9%. Shin-Etsu is a global leader in PVC and semiconductor silicon. It holds competitive advantages worldwide across both traditional cyclical products (e.g., chlor-alkali, organosilicon) and growth-oriented businesses (e.g., semiconductor silicon wafers, photoresists). This leadership stems from three core drivers: 1) Strong R&D commitment: consistently investing 3–4% of revenue into research and development; 2) Cost leadership: pursuing vertically integrated upstream-downstream operations across its product portfolio, ensuring strong synergies among business units; its flagship products—such as globally leading PVC capacity—benefit from cost and scale advantages enabled by fully integrated supply chains (e.g., salt → chlor-alkali → ethylene from ethane), which continue to be optimized year after year; 3) Diversified expansion: building upon its chlor-alkali and silicon-material foundations to enter new areas—including cellulose derivatives and rare-earth permanent magnets—steadily enhancing its comprehensive competitiveness.

Cabot: A Long-Term Value Stock Amid Industrial Upgrading

【Answer 2】 In Q1 2025, EBIT for the Reinforcement Materials segment reached USD 130 million, up 1% year-on-year; quarterly sales volume rose 1% year-on-year. This segment accounts for approximately 66% of Cabot’s global revenue. Trailing-twelve-month (TTM) EBIT stood at USD 538 million, with a profit margin of 20.85%, primarily driven by structural optimization and stringent cost control. Second, the Performance Chemicals segment—covering conductive carbon black, specialty carbon black, fumed silica, and nanomaterials—serves multiple high-end markets including batteries, plastics, electronic devices, and wind power. EBIT for this segment rose 32% year-on-year, fueled by an 8% increase in sales volume: carbon materials and compounds grew 5–6%, while metal oxide products surged over 20%. TTM revenue for this segment totaled USD 1.276 billion—34% of total revenue—with an EBIT margin of 13.71%. Global Capacity Expansion Underway: Cilegon Plant Nears Commissioning; Battery Materials Strategy Intensifies Cabot continues to accelerate global capacity expansion and cutting-edge strategic positioning. The Cilegon plant in Indonesia—dedicated to reinforcement carbon black production—is scheduled to commence operations in H2 2025 and begin generating significant revenue in 2026. Additionally, Cabot is ramping up investments in battery materials—including conductive carbon black and fumed silica—in North America and China, reinforcing its position in lithium-ion battery and energy storage material markets. EPS, Cash Flow, and Capital Return Form the ‘Value Anchor’ – Free cash flow continues to grow steadily; management maintains its target of achieving USD 1 billion in adjusted EBITDA by 2027; – Since 2015, Cabot has repurchased 13% of its outstanding shares and sustained an 8% annual dividend growth rate; – In the current quarter, Cabot repurchased USD 42 million worth of shares and paid dividends totaling USD 24 million, yielding a forward-looking dividend yield of approximately 2%.

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