Tronox is eyeing up a double-digit increase in titanium dioxide sales in the early part 2021 as “significantly improved market conditions” are reported globally.
Europe, where the largest production plant is on the Humber Bank, is just behind the Americas when it comes to demand for the key product, with the Middle East and Africa following.
The fourth quarter of 2020 brought revenues of $783 million (£564m) - up 13 per cent - bringing in a full year of $2.7 billion (£1.9b) - up 4.3 per cent. It saw earnings of $668 million (£481m) reported by the New York Stock Exchange listed chemicals giant.
Strong operational performance came ahead of changes being rung in the boardroom, with Jeffry Quinn stepping aside as chief executive and chairman after becoming embroiled in an insider trading investigation relating to a previous company, Ferro Corporation.
John D Romano, chief commercial and strategy officer, and Jean-François Turgeon, executive vice president and chief operating officer, have been appointed co-chief executives in the interim. There was no involvement of Tronox in the Ferro investigation.
On the results, Mr Romano said: "Tronox delivered exceptional results in the fourth quarter, with the highest adjusted EBITDA results since closing the Cristal acquisition.
“Driving these results is a significant recovery across all products, end markets, and geographies across our portfolio. As we have entered 2021, market demand for TiO2 and Zircon remains strong. Due to the favorable market trajectory, we anticipate TiO2 sales volumes to increase 11 to 15 percent sequentially in quarter one 2021."
Mr Turgeon praised a stand-out year for safety throughout a global pandemic - with the manufacturing process for the whitening agent - used in consumer goods and construction products from toothpaste to paint - a highly volatile one.
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“I am proud to say that, despite the numerous challenges presented by Covid-19, we achieved a record-breaking year for safety in 2020, an incredible accomplishment attributable to the unrelenting focus by the Tronox team.
“John and I want to thank our employees for their continued commitment to safety during these challenging times.”
Synergies of $243 million (£174m) have been realised from the acquisition, which brought on board the flagship site at Stallingborough where 400 are employed, beating expectations. It has been highlighted as being ripe for growth and expansion previously.
Two key capital projects have been flagged globally, a long-running digital transformation project ‘NewTron’ and a mine development programme in Australia.
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It comes after an attempt to buy a smelting facility in Norway to feed the Humber plant was abandoned after the Competition and Markets Authority triggered an investigation into the £246 million deal with Eramet.
Mr Turgeon added: “We have emerged from 2020 a more resilient company and are confident our vertically integrated business model will continue to differentiate Tronox and enable continued outperformance of industry peers.”