PETALING JAYA: Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd saw its operational losses for its first quarter of its financial year 2025 (FY25) reduce year-on-year (y-o-y) by 32% to RM127.95mil.

Net losses narrowed by 29% y-o-y to RM134.82mil although revenue saw further declines by 22% y-o-y to RM1.49bil.

The company said the rise in its bottom line was due to slight improvement of margins, lower depreciation charges and profit contribution from its associate company, Lotte Chemical USA Corp.

“We foresee continued volatility in the global business environment in the near term. Geopolitical factors, including the Russia-Ukraine War, tension in the Middle East, and the impact of President Trump’s policies are expected to influence global trade dynamics and crude oil prices,” president and chief executive officer Jang Seon Pyo said in a statement.

He noted the sluggish economic performance and oversupply of petrochemical products in China continued to disrupt the supply-demand balance equation.

Despite these headwinds, the company will remain focused on its markets in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the South-East Asian region.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, it recorded a lower loss before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation of 92.6% compared with the preceding quarter.

This was due to the absence of impairment losses on property, plant, equipment, right-of-use assets and derecognition of foreign exchange gains on dissolution of a subsidiary recorded in the previous quarter. It said the Lotte Chemical Indonesia new ethylene project in Merak, Indonesia is on track for completion this year.