Faced with rapid changes in the global market in the 3rd quarter of 2021, Bluestar’s overseas listed companies resisted the pressure and achieved new results and new leaps. Bluestar Adisseo continued to maintain its growth momentum and achieved double-digit growth in both revenue and net profit; Bluestar Elkem grasped market opportunities, attained another record high in quarterly performance, and made steady progress towards achieving the annual performance target.
Fully committed to ensuring business continuity, Bluestar Adisseo achieved an operating income of RMB 3.36 billion and net income attributable to shareholders of RMB 430 million in the third quarter, up 12% and 15% year on year, respectively. The good earnings were mainly attributed to the continued strong growth in sales of liquid methionine and specialty products; in addition, aggressive price management and ongoing operational efficiency improvement programs offset the negative impact of rising raw material costs. Safety and health has been a top priority for Adisseo, and the safety performance indicator TRIR was kept at 0.61 in the first three quarters. Bluestar Adisseo's "China Strategy" has been successfully implemented with remarkable results: the penetration of liquid methionine in the Chinese market continued to grow rapidly; the sales revenue of specialty products increased by 58% year on year, driven by the significant growth in the ruminant business; construction of the China R&D and Innovation Center (Nanjing) progressed as planned and is expected to be operational by the end of 2021. The center has been designated as a "Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Jiangsu Province". Key projects such as the debottlenecking project at the European methionine plant, the second phase of the Nanjing liquid methionine plant (BANC2) and the first large-scale production unit for FeedKind® innovative protein products are progressing steadily as scheduled. Through continued development and accumulation of innovative products and services, the latest enzyme product, Rovabio Phyplus, will be launched, marking another milestone in the company's 25-year history of providing solutions to improving animal digestibility.
Bluestar Elkem seized market opportunities in the third quarter and delivered the best ever quarterly performance, achieving a total operating income of NOK 8,796 million, up 49% year on year, EBITDA of NOK 2,131 million, up more than four times year on year, and earnings per share (EPS) of NOK 2.16, with a cumulative achievement of NOK 4.34 in 2021. The company's main business segments registered strong sales and exceptionally active market performance, with strong market demand for silicon and ferrosilicon products and steady price increases for key products; carbon products benefited from the steel and ferroalloy market and remained strong. Major projects accelerated. An investment of NOK 350 million in upgrading Bluestar Elkem Silicones’ plant in Roussillon, France, will further strengthen Bluestar Elkem's specialty products business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and the Americas. Cost and environmental performance was optimized by removing bottlenecks, improving energy efficiency and upgrading wastewater treatment facilities. The company has released its Climate Roadmap, committing to reduce CO2 emissions from fossil fuels by 28% in the period of 2020-2031 and ultimately achieve its long-term goal of net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050, further enhancing the company’s green competitiveness in the industry. Bluestar Elkem Silicones has been awarded the 2021 R&D 100 Innovation Award for its AMSil™ & AMSil SILBIONE™ range of additive manufacturing/3D printing silicone material application solutions, reaffirming the company's R&D strength and market leadership in the field of 3D printing technology applications.