Remarkable performance earns Petkim
‘Best Working Capital Management Award’
SOCAR Turkey was recognised in two categories at this year’s International Finance Awards. The company was the recipient of the ‘Best Working Capital Management Award’ and Betül Sarıkaya, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at SOCAR Turkey Gas Business Unit, won in the ‘Best Woman FCO Award’ category.
Uninterrupted production amid the pandemic
While the pandemic has brought major global disruption, it has also led to declines in production in almost all major sectors. The petrochemical industry was no exception. Worldwide, many facilities had to either halt or cut down production due to the pandemic but Petkim managed to continue production without interruption during this challenging period. The most important factor that has helped Petkim continue its production uninterruptedly has been its infrastructure that allows integrated operation with the STAR Refinery which is another subsidiary of SOCAR Turkey. As Turkey’s first and only integrated petrochemical company, Petkim continued supplying high-quality naphtha, which is its main raw material, directly from STAR Refinery at a time when the supply of petrochemical products slowed down globally. 74 | May 2021 | International Finance
Development in-line with budget targets continued
Petkim continued its operations seamlessly during a challenging period, ensuring a balanced management of the fluctuations in global prices with effective working capital management. During this period, global raw material prices fell behind the increases in product prices, allowing for a reduction in net financial costs to help maintain development in line with budget targets. The on-point steps taken during this period of successful management of financial operations provided Petkim with competitive advantages in the global petrochemicals market.
Petkim’s strong performance reflected in the figures
The continuity achieved in production during the pandemic was also reflected in Petkim’s figures for the first quarter of 2021. Capacity utilisation stood at a high level of 92 percent in the first quarter of the
