Borealis launched more than 60 new products last year

Borealis introduced a total of 63 new products to the market during 2005, the polyolefins major revealed yesterday as it unveiled its financial results for last year. Innovations included Daploy PP for soft foams, Borcell, a combined LDPE/HDPE for mobile phone antenna and Nepol long glass fibre reinforced PP. The company also highlighted the launch of its new generation PE technology Borstar PE2G, a multi modal process and catalyst system suitable for customer focused products.

The company’s product development programme means that more than one fifth of its sales are accounted for by products less than 5 years old, chief financial officer Clive Watson said at a London briefing. “We want to increase this figure,” he added. Borealis reported a 2005 operating profit of E236m compared with E278m for 2004 although the post tax figure was up at E226m (E203m).

The company’s performance last year was affected by a record figure of production turnaround projects numbering 22 in all.