Versalis envisages future in bio-based chemistry

Milan, Italy – Italian energy and petrochemicals major Eni is continuing to restructure its polymers & chemicals arms Versalis to increase its efficiency and position in markets where it can gain competitive leadership.

The restructuring strategy has already led to the closure of a production facility in Grangemouth, Scotland (ERJ report), and the ‘resizing’ of some sites to bring down fixed and variable costs, said Adriano Alfani, CEO Versalis.

The process started with the transformation of the company’s facility in Marghera and the integration of acquired platforms such as Novamont and Finproject (ERJ report), he explained at a capital markets day event. 

According to the Versalis leader, the company was materially impacted by the weak global chemical market and the particular challenges of Europe in 2023.

“We are transforming and re-positioning Versalis, leveraging the new platforms focused on specialised products, bio-based chemistry, and circularity solutions," according to Alfani.

Under the plan, the company has targeted earnings (EBITDA) to reach breakeven in 2025 and positive EBIT in 2026 – representing an improvement of over €600 million in overall performance.

For 2024-2027, Versali has earmarked capex of €1 billion, towards improving asset-footprint and developing the new target-platforms: doubling their size compared to a 2023 baseline.

“Our commitment is to accelerate the restructuring of this business, to align the integration with the growing new bio-based chemical platforms,” concluded Alfani.