Nova Chemicals Corp. reported on Tuesday that it earned US$185 million on revenues of $1.25 billion during the first quarter of 2013.
That represents a slight decrease from a profit of $188 million on revenues of $1.34 billion for the same period in 2012.
The company said in a release that the decline was due primarily to a $22-million write-off incurred with respect to its early payout of a nearly $100-million debenture.
The petrochemical company, whose operations include ethylene and polyethylene plants at Joffre, earned $336 million in operating profit from its olefins/polyolefins business unit — up from $305 million in the first quarter of 2012.
However, the Joffre segment of this business unit experienced a decrease in margins during the quarter.
A highlight of the three-month period was the approval by Nova’s board of directors for approximately $1 billion in funding for expansion of the company’s polyethylene facilities at Joffre. Work on this project has now begun.