Nova Chemicals Corp. strengthened its bottom line during the first quarter of 2012.
The company, which is headquartered in Calgary but has ethylene and polyethylene plants at Joffre, reported on Tuesday that it had a $191-million profit for the three months ended March 31. That was up 17 per cent from the $163 million earned in the same period of 2011.
Nova’s revenues for the quarter were $1.34 billion, a three per cent increase from $1.3 billion recorded at the start of 2011.
The company credited its improved numbers to its olefins segment, which includes the ethylene plants at Joffre. It said lower natural gas costs and higher ethylene and co-product prices resulted in higher margins, with sales volumes also up.
Nova also reported that it signed this month a memorandum of understanding with Mistral Midstream Inc. to purchase ethane — a feedstock for ethylene production — from a proposed gas processing facility in southeast Saskatchewan. This ethane, would be transported by pipeline to Alberta.