Profits drop for surfactant maker Maysta

China's largest polyurethane surfactant maker Jiangsu Maysta Chemical Co. Ltd. reported a $7.97 million net profit in 2017, down by 26 percent from 2016. Revenue rose 7 percent to $47 million.

Rising feedstock prices led to an 8 percent drop in overall gross margin last year to 34 percent, according to the company's annual report. It said its average procurement price for silicone jumped at least 50 percent.

In 2017, China's polyurethane foam consumption reached 4.85 million tons, accounting for 30 percent of the country's total consumption of polyurethane products. Maysta sold 10,400 metric tons of rigid foam surfactants last year. This was up 8 percent from 2016, and brought in 79 percent of its revenue.

To boost its new businesses, the company also launched several new products in 2017. These are for flexible foam with a range of densities, and also for anti-shrinkage single component foam.

Maysta also recently started up two plants in Nanjing, Jiangsu, with a combined annual capacity of 21,000 tons. These both ran at about 60 percent capacity utilization rate last year.

In October, the firm unveiled plans for a project that will expand its Nanjing Chemical Industry Park facility by adding about 6,000 tons of capacity each year. It is expected to come online in the first half of 2019.