July 25, 2025 15:07

Early financial signs are emerging from the Italian energy group ENI’s ongoing restructuring of its chemical operations, which are consolidated under its subsidiary Versalis.

In the second quarter of this year, ENI's chemical activities posted a loss of €180 million, an improvement of €38 million — or 17% — compared with the €222 million loss recorded in the same period last year.

Despite this positive shift, the six-month result remains in the red at €427 million, wider than the €390 million loss recorded in the first half of 2024, still weighed down by a challenging macroeconomic environment and weak first-quarter performance.

According to ENI, the European chemical industry continues to face a prolonged downturn driven by the broader economic slowdown and rising production costs. These pressures have undermined Versalis’ competitiveness compared with U.S. and Asian producers, in a market already suffering from global oversupply.

As a result, margins have remained under pressure across all sectors, with prices yet to recover the higher costs of energy and raw materials.

In terms of volumes, chemical sales declined by 5% in the second quarter to 720,000 tonnes. For the first half of the year, volumes were down 6%, falling from 1.62 million tonnes to 1.52 million.

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