top 100 chemical manufacturers ranking, 2023

Values in USD Million

Rank	Company	Sales 2022	%Change in comparison of 2021	EBIT/operating income 2022	%Change in comparison of 2021	Net Income	%Change in comparison of 2021	Total Assets	%Change in comparison of 2021	Capex 2022	%Change in comparison of 2021	R&D expenses 2022	%Change in comparison of 2021	EBITDA 2022	%Change in comparison of 2021
1	BASF	93,676	11.1%	7024	-14.7%	-673		90,613	-3.3%			2,465	3.7%	11529	-5.3%
2	Sinopec¹	78,322	6.40%	-2048
3	Dow	56,902	3.5%	6090	-25.2%	4640	-27.6%	60,603	-3.8%	1,823	21.5%	851	-0.7%
4	LyondellBasell	50,451	9.3%			3889	-30.8%							6301	-27.5%
5	SABIC¹	48,751	12.9%	6207	-29.7%			78,162	-2.6%
6	LG chem	40,973	21.6%	2367	-40.4%	1735	-44.5%	53,699	32.9%	7,291	72.5%
7	Henkel	24,025	11.6%	1942	-18.2%	1344	-23.1%	19,392	-7.1%	768	-10.7%	611	-21.6%
8	INEOS	22,448	11.2%	2147	-30.1%			21,362	16.6%	1,112	28.1%	45	19.0%	3047	-21.4%
9	Sherwin-Williams	22,149	11.1%			2020	8.4%	22,594	9.3%	645	73.3%			3545	12.3%
10	Sumitomo Chemical²	21,016	20.9%	1909	82.2%	1417	173.9%	32,742	8.0%	799	23.0%	763	-56.0%
11	Evonik	19,832	23.6%	1010	-19.7%	579	-27.6%	23,396	-2.1%	918	-7.9%	493	-0.9%
12	PTT Global Chemical	19,766	45.8%					20,807	-3.7%
13	Covestro	19,274	13.0%	286	-88.2%	292	-83.2%	15,645	-6.3%					1735	-47.6%
14	Indorama Ventures²	19,235	40.8%	1437	18.9%			18,030	15.1%	741	28.4%
15	Braskem	18,261	-8.6%			-155		16,659	-4.9%
16	PPG	17,652	5.1%	1381	-23.9%	1054	-27.8%	20,744	-2.8%	518	39.6%	448	2.1%
17	Lotte Chemical	17,598	22.9%	-603		22	-98.0%	21,160	17.2%
18	Solvay	17239	40.6%	2382	86.6%	2075	95.6%			1,096	38.9%	374	17.1%
19	Johnson Matthey²	17,190	3.8%	587	18.1%	-108	-	7,151	-13.9%	478	24.6%	216	8.6%
20	Toray²	16,937	18.3%	765	80.0%			23,134	6.8%	812	-19.8%	472	-1.1%
21	Shin-Etsu Chemical²	15,766	38.6%	5140	72.4%	3801	70.3%	30,806	19.9%	1,626	-6.5%	475	21.8%
22	AGC Inc	15,473	19.9%	1398	-10.8%	355	-60.2%	21,387	5.6%	1,798	9.3%
23	Ecolab	14,188	11.4%	1563	-2.3%	1092	-3.4%	21,464	1.2%	713	10.9%
24	Chevron Phillips Chemical	14180	0.5%			1662	-54.9%	18,656	4.9%
25	Bayer¹	14,140	36.6%
26	Borealis	13,114	20.4%	1160	-28.7%	2264	51.2%	15,753	13.1%	778	0.7%
27	DuPont	13,017	3.6%	1448	0.3%	5847	-10.3%	41,400	-9.4%	743	-16.6%	536	-3.8%
28	International Flavors & Fragrances	12440	6.7%	1276	0.6%	-1864	-	35,407	-10.7%			603	-4.1%	2455	1.2%
29	Arkema	12390	21.30%	1381	-25.7%	1036	-26.1%	14,493	9.8%			290	11.1%	2263	22.2%
30	Mitsui Chemicals²	12,256	33.1%	1230	90.1%	836	90.1%	7,854	31.2%	1,574	122.3%	290	12.8%
31	AkzoNobel (mil Euro)	11635	13.1%			378	-57.5%	15,813	6.2%	313	1.4%			1154	-26.8%
32	Westlake Chemical¹	11008	27.0%	2416	-5.2%									2416	-5.2%
33	Honeywell	10727	7.1%	2354	11.0%
34	Eastman Chemical	10580	1.0%	1159	-9.5%	867	8.9%	15,519	5.8%	611	10.1%	264	3.9%
35	Alpek	10555	37.1%	1212	40.3%	789	55.9%	7076	17.4%	862	279.7%			1455	27.1%
36	Nippon Paint	9949	31.1%	794	20.9%	1780	49.6%	18,562	24.9%	379	0.6%
37	Mitsubishi Chemical^1,2	9,788	44.5%	777	546.8%
38	Celanese	9673	13.3%	2171	-12.2%	1902	0.3%	26,272	119.4%	543	16.3%	112	30.2%
39	Orbia Advance	9648	9.8%			665	-13.9%	11,624	9.8%	549	76.5%			1909	-6.7%
40	Olin	9,376	5.2%	1779	-3.9%	1327	2.3%	8,044	-5.6%	237	17.9%	18	-10.3%
41	Asahi Kasei^1,2	9,107	20.9%	838	65.9%
42	Israel Chemicals (ICL)¹	8841	55%	2977	259.5%					706	23.43%
43	Wacker	8,806	32.2%	1801	48.0%	1375	54.8%	10,085	15.6%	587	59.0%	191	8.6%	2232	35.3%
44	LANXESS	8,676	7.0%	276	-15.2%	268	-6.4%	12,101	7.3%	437	-15.0%	109	-11.3%	886	-4.3%
45	Corteva	8476	16.9%
46	Huntsman	8023	4.6%			460	-56.0%	8,220	-12.5%	272	-16.6%
47	DIC Corp	8,012	23.2%	302	-7.5%	134	303.4%	9,588	17.7%			115	12.2%	650	23.9%
48	Givaudan	7716	6.50%	1206	2.1%	145	4.3%	12,477	0.7%			566	-7.1%	1600	-0.4%
49	Albemarle	7320	120.0%	2470	209.4%	2690	2075.0%	15,457	40.8%	1,262	32.3%	72	33.2%
50	Orica⁵	7096	36.3%	579	35.6%	49	-	8,368	13.6%
51	Chemours	6794	7.1%	741	9.6%	578	-4.9%	7,640	1.2%			118	10.3%
52	Occidental Chemical¹	6,757	28.8%	2508	62.4%
53	Lonza	6,746	15.0%	1671	81.1%	1173	-67.1%	18,816	5.4%	2,029	44.1%			2319	56.7%
54	RPM International⁴	6,708	9.8%			491	-2.2%
55	Petronas Chemicals Group	6,572	25.7%	1506	-5.4%			12,583	19.3%
56	Formosa Plastic Corp	6,360	-7.4%	1388	-48.3%			15,949	-5.4%
57	ExxonMobil¹	5,958	41.9%
58	Tosoh^1,2	5,814	30.3%	978	77.0%
59	FMC Corp	5802	15.0%	1144	10.6%	742	0.6%	11,171	4.7%	142	42.2%	314	3.1%
60	Kuraray	5,747	20.2%	661	20.6%	412	45.7%	9,283	12.0%
61	Clariant	5,635	18.9%	1177	11.4%			6,708	-12.1%			173	3.2%	878	14.4%
62	Teijin^1,2	5,185	9.1%					5,520	10.7%
63	Trinseo	4,966	2.9%	-364	-	-431		3,760	-20.2%	148	25.9%			-322
64	Axalta Coating Systems	4,884	10.6%	565	9.3%	192	-27.3%	7,059	-2.2%			66	6.4%	700	-11.5%
65	Hanwha Solutions	4668	10.2%	465	-43.7%	299	-38.6%	4,533	19.1%
66	NOVA Chemicals	4,472	-11.6%			298	-77.0%	10,362	1.5%	1,000	27.7%			1020	-56.5%
67	Cabot⁵	4,321	26.8%	642	16.7%	209	-16.4%	3,525	6.6%	221	11.6%	55	-1.8%	788	11.0%
68	Methanex	4311	-2.4%	611	-14.2%	462	-16.9%	6,631	8.9%	146	41.7%
69	Resonac¹	4,011	22.5%	189	-34.3%
70	Kemira	3,829	33.5%	373	104.4%	257	108.1%	3,917	16.3%	212	16.5%	35	17.9%	599	49.7%
71	Sasol^1,3	3,787	10.1%
72	H.B. Fuller	3,749	14.4%	676	11.1%			4,464	4.4%					530	13.5%
73	FUCHS PETROLUB	3,660	18.8%	392	3.4%			2,706	9.2%	34	-25.6%	74	16.9%
74	Daicel²	3,556	18.9%	385	59.8%	238	58.5%	5,311	9.1%	310	3.2%	158	6.1%
75	Tronox	3454	-3.3%	458	-20.6%	500	65.0%	6,306	5.3%	428	57.4%	13	8.3%	693	-15.6%
76	Avient	3397	2.5%	243	-13.0%	703	205.0%	6,085	21.8%	106	4.9%	85	2.0%
77	OCI Company ltd¹	2934	37.2%	614	36.7%									689	24.4%
78	Denka²	2,924	8.6%	305	15.6%	198	14.2%	4,238	6.0%	271	-15.8%	108	-3.4%
79	Synthomer	2,885	12.8%	197	-62.5%			3,688	24.3%	110	10.5%			302	-50.0%
80	Nippon Shokubai²	2,807	35.20%	221				3,938	9.9%	125	-38.2%	116	4.1%
81	Tessenderlo	2,776	24.3%	309	27.6%			2,468	4.3%	122	18.2%
82	NewMarket	2,765	17.3%			280	46.4%	2,407	-5.9%	56	-28.8%	140	-2.6%	464	27.3%
83	Zeon²	2,749	19.8%	338	33.0%	254	20.6%	3,683	8.0%	174	16.6%	121	11.3%
84	Petkim	2,616	70%	133	-55.0%	350	19.0%							211	-37.0%
85	UBE^1,2	2,595	31.6%	270	332.9%
86	JSR Corp²	2,592	9.3%	333	28.1%	2835		6,151	20.3%	318	4.1%	166	10.8%
87	Incitec Pivot^1,5	2541	47.8%	627	179.2%
88	Ashland	2,391	13.3%	333	73.4%	927	321.4%	6,213	-6.0%	113	7.6%	55	10.0%	1342	178.4%
89	Kaneka^1,2	2,279	30.1%	277	56.30%
90	Venator	2,173	-1.8%	-149		-181		2,069	-12.5%	69	-5.5%
91	Minerals Technologies	2,126	14.4%	215	-8.9%	126	-25.0%	3,402	0.8%	81	-2.9%	20	4.6%
92	Orion Engineered Carbon	2,031	31.3%	157	-15.3%	106	-21.2%	1,889	15.8%	233	8.4%	22	-1.4%	303	-9.0%
93	Innospec	1,964	32.4%	187	41.8%	133	43.0%	1,604	2.1%	40	1.3%	39	3.5%	225	26.5%
94	AdvanSix	1,946	15.5%			172	23.0%	1,495	14.0%	15	27.0%			308	15.6%
95	Quaker Chemical	1,944	10.4%	52	-65.2%	-16								123	-53.8%
96	Kronos Worldwide	1,930	-0.5%	160	-14.7%	105	-7.4%	1,934	-3.9%	63	7.8%	15	-11.8%	203	-9.7%
97	Ingevity	1,668	19.9%			212	79.2%	2,737	10.8%	143	37.3%	30	15.2%	453	7.2%
98	Tata Chemicals	1,558	23.4%					2,059	16.0%					279	53.6%
99	SK Global Chemical	1,445	-12.5%	182	-58.5%	183	-13.9%	3,117	-0.3%					2584	-58.3%
100	Entegris	774	23.6%	122	-11.0%

¹ Only Chemicals Segment
² Year ending March 2022
³ Year ending June 2022
⁴ Year Ending May 2022
⁵ Year ending September 2022

The year 2022 proved to be a challenging time for the global economy, particularly for the chemical market, which was confronted with significant turbulence. A noteworthy occurrence that had profound repercussions for the world economy and hindered its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic was the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022. This led to widespread violence and displacement of civilians, as well as significant damage to infrastructure and businesses in the affected areas.

The Russia-Ukraine war has brought about fears of a global recession due to its potential impact on the world economy. The ongoing conflict has already caused significant damage to the economies of both Russia and Ukraine, but it is the broader economic consequences that are of particular concern.

The conflict has led to a rise in global crude oil prices. Russia is one of the major producers of crude oil, and any disruption to its supply can lead to a rise in prices. In addition, Ukraine is a key transit country for Russian gas exports to Europe, and any interruption in the flow of gas could lead to a shortage in Europe, further pushing up prices.

Further, the sanctions imposed by the US and the EU on Russia have had a significant impact on global trade. Many Russian companies are now unable to access the international financial system, making it difficult for them to do business with foreign companies. This has had a knock-on effect on businesses around the world that have links to Russia, including many in the chemical industry.

Additionally, the war has led to a general sense of uncertainty in the global economy. Businesses do not like uncertainty, and the prospect of a prolonged conflict in a major global player such as Russia can cause investors to pull back and wait for clearer economic signals before investing further. This can lead to a slowdown in the global economy, and in some cases, a recession.

Thus, this report is an attempt to indicate the impact of these market uncertainties on the global chemical market, by showing their financial performance of 2022 compared to 2021.

Top Performers

ChemAnalyst has conducted a comprehensive analysis and ranking of companies based on their performance, considering key indicators such as net income, operating income, EBITDA, total assets, capital expenditures (Capex), and research and development (R&D) expenses in 2022 compared to 2021.

BASF, despite its top position in terms of revenue, experienced significant losses in net income during 2022. This was attributed to non-cash impairment losses on its shareholding in Wintershall Dea AG after the deconsolidation of Wintershall Dea's Russian exploration and production activities, which led to a revaluation of its Russian shareholdings.

Top 10 By Operating Income

BASF emerged as the top-ranking company based on operating income for the year 2022. However, there was a year-on-year decline of approximately 14.7%, which can be attributed to several factors including increased energy prices, lower margins, reduced volumes, fluctuations in currency exchange rates, and higher fixed costs. In contrast, Shin-Etsu experienced a substantial growth of around 72.4% in its operating income during 2022. This was mainly driven by strong demand in the infrastructure material segment, particularly for PVC and Caustic Soda, which remained robust throughout the quarter. Another notable performer was Albemarle, which significantly improved its ranking following a remarkable increase of around 209% in operating income in 2022. The surge in lithium prices played a pivotal role in driving this growth for Albemarle.

Top 10 by Net Income

Despite not ranking in the top 10, Dupont achieved the leading position in terms of net income, despite a decline of over 10% compared to the previous year, primarily due to reduced income from discontinued operations. The company's near-flat operating EBITDA margins year-on-year and improved sales were the main drivers of this financial performance, although slight declines were observed in the water protection and electronics & industrial segments. Dow Chemicals, on the other hand, experienced a significant decline of approximately 27.6% in net income but still secured the second position in the top 10 list based on net income. This decline in net income was attributed to sluggish market dynamics, which prompted the company to reduce its operating rates and revise pricing negatively. LyondellBasell has experienced a steep fall in its net income but manages to grab third the position in the list. Company’s statement indicates that during the year, the company identified certain items that had a financial impact of $213 million after accounting for taxes. These items, which affected the company's earnings for the full year, amounted to a reduction of $0.65 per share. The identified items include a non-cash impairment charge related to the sale of the company's Australian polypropylene business, as well as costs incurred from the company's plans to exit the refining business. In other words, the company experienced financial consequences due to these specific events, which had a negative effect on its earnings and required recognition in its financial statements.

Top 10 Increments in Net Income

On the other hand, Albemarle achieved a remarkable increase of approximately 2075% in its annual net profit, primarily driven by higher lithium prices resulting from tight market conditions and increased volumes sold under index-referenced and variable-based contracts. Ashland, which has earned more than 321.4% increment (y-o-y basis) in net income during the 2022 is on the second position of “Top 10 Increments in Net Income” for this year. However, the company has revealed that most of its income came from discontinued operations reporting $746 Million from discontinued operations and $181 million from the continuing operations. DIC Corp gained third position in the list, reporting 303.4% increment in its net income during 2022. The statement released by the company revealed that the reasons for a significant increase in operating income. The jump in net income can be attributed to several specific factors. Firstly, there were one-time costs related to the acquisition of the C&E pigments business. These costs likely affected the financial results for the current period, leading to a notable change in operating income. Additionally, there was a reversal of deferred tax assets in the United States, which means that previously recognized tax benefits were reversed or reduced. This reversal resulted in a decrease in deferred tax assets and an equivalent amount being recorded as income taxes–deferred. It's important to note that the impact of these changes was observed in the preceding period, possibly influencing the comparison with the current period's operating income.

Top 10 by Total Assets

In terms of total assets, BASF maintained its top position in the ranking despite experiencing a decline of 3.3% in 2022. Most of the companies in the list have shown usual increment or decrements in the total assets values accept Celanese, which has shown a remarkable increment of around 119.4% during 2022, driven by acquisition of Mobility and Material (M&M) business from Dupont. On November 1, 2022, the Company accomplished the successful acquisition of DuPont's M&M business. Through this acquisition, the Company gained ownership of a diverse range of engineered thermoplastics and elastomers, well-known brands and intellectual property, worldwide production assets, and an exceptional team of professionals. This strategic move positions Celanese as the leading global company specializing in high-quality specialty materials.

Top 10 decline in Total Assets

Trinseo, on the other hand, observed the highest decrease of around 20.2% in total asset value due to the shorter useful life of certain IT assets related to the company's transition to a new enterprise resource planning system. Johnson Matthey also experienced a significant decline of 13.9% in total assets, mainly due to standard asset depreciation and losses/damages caused by extreme weather conditions. The company highlighted the impact of severe weather events such as wind, rain, and drought on their key sites, equipment, and stock, emphasizing the need for prioritizing risk mitigation and climate change adaptation measures.

Research Methodology

The research methodology employed involved compiling a comprehensive list of major chemical manufacturing companies worldwide and analysing their balance sheets for the year 2022. The ranking of companies was based solely on their sales or revenue earned during 2022. However, some companies released their financial reports according to their fiscal year ending in 2022. Companies that had multiple businesses were included in the list, but only the chemical segment was taken into consideration for the ranking. Companies that were involved in manufacturing fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, and specialty gases were either excluded from the list or had their chemical segment focused upon. Several companies, which had chemical manufacturing as a major business segment, had to be excluded from the list due to an unclear segmentation of the chemical domain in their annual financial releases.

The ranking was based on the percentage change in performance compared to the previous year (2021). However, companies that faced losses during the previous year were skipped, as an improvement shown in percentage change would give a wrong indication of their performance. Only important financial aspects, such as sales or revenue, EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes)/Operating Income, R&D (research and development) expenses, Capital expenditures (CAPEX), EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), and net income, were taken into consideration. These financial indicators were also compared with the previous year (2021), and a percentage change was calculated. Analysing these financial indicators can help to understand the actual performance of the company. However, some important financial indicators had to be skipped due to different approaches by some companies in demonstrating their financials, as they were not clearly mentioned in their annual press releases.

Furthermore, all currencies were converted into USD, based on the conversion rate on December 31, 2022, in order to maintain a level playing field for all the companies.

Disclaimer

The information provided in this ranking is intended to be informative and should not be relied upon as the sole factor in making any financial decisions. It is important to note that each country may have its own unique financial reporting regulations and that companies may use various methods to present their financial performance. Therefore, discrepancies in reported values may occur. While every effort has been made to generate this ranking using the most appropriate and relevant approach, any suggestions or feedback to improve its accuracy are welcome.