Indorama reports narrower Q1 profits

Thailand-based chemicals and polymers producer Indorama Ventures Public Co. Ltd. (IVL), which operates polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic recycling facilities around the world, cites persistent economic headwinds contributing to narrow profits in the first quarter of 2025.

IVL reports adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $276 million for this year’s first quarter, a 23 percent decline compared with the previous quarter and down by 30 percent year on year.

In addition to the economic headwinds the firm cites that continue to weigh on commodities markets, IVL points to scheduled maintenance and adverse weather affecting production at olefin production sites in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and Clear Lake, Texas, in the United States.

As a result, EBITDA in IVL's Combined PET (CPET) segment, which includes its PET bottle recycling operations, declined by 50 percent year on year, falling to $126 million.

Results in IVL's Indovinya chemicals and its polymer Fibers business units were more encouraging in the first quarter, with Indovinya EBITDA growing by 18 percent year on year and Fibers segment EBITDA rising by 22 percent.

The company says it is “optimizing its business to shape a renewed long-term growth path in a fundamentally altered industry landscape. The strategy includes building strategic partnerships that leverage mutual leadership positions to consolidate mature.”

IVL announced one such partnership this week, an alliance with Spanish nonprofit organization Ayuda en Acción and Portugal-based polymers producer the IMG Group to conduct a program called Bamagreen designed to strengthen plastic circularity in Mali.

Plastic2Prosperity program

Indorama says the initiative is the first under the Plastic2Prosperity program that has been developed through the adaPETation network by the IMG Group.

“The project will strengthen plastic circularity while generating tangible socio-economic benefits, particularly for vulnerable communities including conflict-displaced populations, women and young people,” the company says.

The initiative involves working with nearly 2,000 people in Mali to provide them with “stable, dignified employment opportunities through recycling and environmental awareness efforts.”

“At Indorama Ventures, we believe that waste is not just a problem—it’s a powerful opportunity,” says Yash Lohia, executive president and chair of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) council at IVL.

“By raising awareness and investing in circular solutions like Plastic2Prosperity, we can transform environmental challenges into engines of socio-economic growth. This project in Mali shows what’s possible when we work together to regenerate communities and our planet.”