Olefin & polyolefin segments push LyondellBasell Q2 EBITDA

Second-Quarter 2013 Highlights

- Record diluted earnings per share of $1.60; $923 million income from continuing operations

- EBITDA of $1,652 million; strong olefins results continue

- Increased interim quarterly dividend by 25% to $0.50 per share

- Repurchased approximately 5.4 million shares during the quarter

- Credit rating upgraded by Moody's

"Overall, it was a strong quarter. We achieved record quarterly earnings and advanced our plans for the future on several fronts. The back-to-basics strategy that we put in place three years ago continues to yield strong results and returns for our shareholders. This was particularly evident in both our U.S. and European olefins businesses. In both regions, our plants ran well above average industry operating rates while also utilizing additional advantaged natural gas liquid feedstocks," said Jim Gallogly, LyondellBasell Chief Executive Officer.

"We continue to invest in our assets, completing turnarounds at one propylene oxide plant in the U.S. and another in Europe and concluding the butadiene expansion at Wesseling, Germany during the second quarter. Our well positioned assets and strong operations enabled us to increase our dividend and initiate a share repurchase program. During the latter part of the quarter, we purchased almost one percent of our outstanding shares and increased our dividend by 25 percent to 50 cents per share," Gallogly said.

OUTLOOK

"Industry conditions in the U.S. are relatively unchanged from the first half of the year. Our integrated assets and diversified portfolio of U.S. olefins and Intermediates and Derivatives businesses remain very profitable. In Europe, the market continues to seek equilibrium in a slow economy, and we have seen rising naphtha prices. Refining has been a challenging industry and continues to evolve.

“We believe that these market conditions coupled with an imbalance within renewable fuel requirements will continue to pressure our near term results. Our path and strategy remain unchanged, and LyondellBasell is well-positioned to continue generating strong results and rewarding our shareholders," Gallogly said.

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LyondellBasell