Braskem: sales grow in the 3rd quarter, but falling spreads are worrying
According to InfoMoney, JP Morgan sees positive petrochemical volumes in the third quarter, while falling spreads and financial restructuring gain weight.
BY THE X-TRADER NEWS NEWSROOM · REPORTING FROM INFOMONEY · 2 MIN
Braskem (BRKM5) sales increased in the third quarter of 2026, but the fall in spreads, an indicator that weighs on the petrochemical margin, placed profitability at the center of the discussion. The operational data were released this Thursday (29), and the JP Morgan reading, cited by InfoMoney, points to the same contrast between volume and margin.
According to InfoMoney, volumes in the period were positive and spreads fell compared to the previous quarter. In Brazil, production and sales were above the bank's estimates, and the use of raw materials centers remained stable. The company had sequential improvement in Brazil and Mexico, while Europe was practically stable. Bahia and São Paulo produced less, offset by normalization in Rio Grande do Sul.
The regional picture is uneven. In the United States and Europe, volumes fell 2% compared to the second quarter. In Europe, product availability was lower, while American customers had made advance purchases in the previous quarter. In Mexico, utilization reached 62%, the highest level since the maintenance stop in the first half of 2026, but Idesa faces liquidity problems.
It's at the margins where the story gets more difficult. According to the survey, the spread of polypropylene fell by 7% in the United States and 88% in Europe. Among the main products, the drops were 52% in polyethylene and 34% in PVC. Resin volumes, on the other hand, rose 16% compared to the second quarter, and total sales of the main chemicals fell 3%, in line with JP Morgan's projection. The report also cites a general drop of 13% in the main chemicals, without detailing the metric used.
For JP Morgan, operational results take a backseat. Investors' focus is on the company's financial restructuring, which does not yet have a release date. Therefore, the quarter tends to be read less by what the company sold and more by what still needs to be resolved in the balance sheet.
What changes for the investor
The combination of rising volumes and falling spreads leaves margin as a variable to monitor in future reports. From what JP Morgan signals, the financial restructuring should weigh more heavily on investors' assessment than the operational numbers, and its timing is still uncertain. The data shows how the operation performed, but does not indicate where share prices should go.
Automatically translated from Portuguese.
