Unipar is ready to invest if there is demand, owner says
Unipar, one of B3’s biggest dividend payers this year, is expected to start 2022 with net cash - with no net debt, therefore - and plans to invest heavily in Brazil.The perspective of higher consumption of chlorine and PVC driven by the new basic sanitation framework and pent-up demand in this sector may encourage the company to build new plants and expand existing units in the coming years. "It’s just a matter of confirming the demand," said Frank Geyer Abubakir, chairman and controlling shareholder of the company.In 2021, amid the petrochemical super cycle, Unipar beat efficiency records in its plants and benefited from the high prices of caustic soda at first and then of PVC. In the third quarter alone, the net profit reached a record of R$788 million, raising the 9-month gain to R$1.32 billion. In the year, it paid R$1.4 billion in dividends, with a dividend yield of 21% - one of the highest, if not the highest, in the São Paulo stock exchange.In an interview with Valor, the businessman said that, after decades in the petrochemical industry, he learned that despite the good moment of the cycle, the best practice is to always be prepared for the down moments. Even so, in Brazil, the new sanitation rules will unlock multi-billion investments, provided they get off the drawing board, and have the power to bring health and dignity to the 46% of Brazilians who are still not served by sewage networks - in addition to offering opportunities to the company.In the political and economic field, Mr. Abubakir, 49, is concerned that the different forces have chosen antagonism instead of dialogue. This year, he made it to Forbes billionaires index. Read below the main excerpts from the interview:Valor: How do you see the political and economic scenario in Brazil?Frank Geyer Abubakir: We are forgetting to consider it against the pandemic backdrop. The political and economic moment does not depend only on Brazil, but also on a macro circumstance that has been one of the worst in the new century and millennium. In this proportion, I understand that there were hits and misses. I don’t see the country as being either the worst or the best. A factor that helps a lot the production in Brazil is the weakened real - it helps to produce more, export more and import less. In politics, I am concerned that we are not building bridges and negotiating intermediate solutions. We must move towards dialogue.Valor: Can the elections of 2022 influence investment...
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