INEOS has filed or is preparing to file ten anti-dumping cases with the European Commission as the chemicals group faces mounting financial pressure amid rising costs and intensifying global competition.
An INEOS euro bond has dropped almost 10% over the past month, according to data from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, adding financial pressure to one of Europe’s largest chemicals producers and sharpening the stakes around the ten anti-dumping cases it has recently launched with Brussels.
The company’s 5.625% 2025-2030 bond, which traded at €95.14 on 13 October, was quoted around €85.4 on Thursday. Weekly trading data shows the bond sliding to a low of about €84.9 earlier this week before stabilising on Wednesday and Thursday.
INEOS — controlled by billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe — said on Monday that it had filed or was in the process of filing ten anti-dumping cases with the European Commission, an unusually large wave of complaints for a single company.
The products span PVC, ABS, polyethylene glycols, MEG and polyolefins, all of which are widely used in Europe’s automotive, construction, packaging and pharmaceutical industries.
INEOS argued that Europe is being flooded with low-cost imports from Asia, the Middle East and the United States, warning that these high-emission products are undercutting domestic producers who face significantly higher energy and carbon costs.
The company has accused foreign suppliers of “dumping” into the EU market and argues that the trend is accelerating plant closures.
INEOS has also begun closing European plants, announcing in October the shutdown of two units in Rheinberg, Germany with 175 job losses and confirming closures at or mothballing sites in the UK, Belgium, France and Spain.
It comes at a time when INEOS is already facing tougher market conditions, including subdued demand and higher energy and carbon costs.
Fitch Ratings downgraded INEOS to BB- on 15 September, citing “a weak chemical market and high capex” for the company’s €4 billion Project One in Antwerp, expected to be one of the largest plastics facilities in Europe once built.
The company reported net debt of around €11.3 billion at the end of September, according to its latest trading statement, alongside €2.6 billion in cash and a leverage ratio of 5.7x.
The company said at the time that it had implemented cost controls and was reviewing capital spending in response to “challenging market conditions”, noting that global sentiment in chemicals remains affected by tariff uncertainty in key markets, while European producers continue to face high energy costs and carbon taxes.
A wider downturn is also weighing on producers. Europe’s chemical industry has been hit by high production costs, cheaper feedstocks in the US and Middle East, and a rapid build-up of new capacity in China, prompting plant closures and falling utilisation rates across the region.
An INEOS spokesperson told Euronews Business that the company had “a proven record of navigating challenging cycles through disciplined cost control, strong cash generation, and prudent capital allocation”.
While acknowledging that the chemical sector faced “cyclical pressure”, the spokesperson added that INEOS was “better positioned than most peers”.
