Braskem's EBITDA Grows 19% to R$ 729 Million in 1Q10

SAO PAULO, May 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BRASKEM S.A. (BM&FBOVESPA: BRKM3, BRKM5, BRKM6; NYSE: BAK; LATIBEX: XBRK) announces today its results for 1Q10.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• EBITDA of R$729 million in 1Q10, with EBITDA margin of 16.3%, 1.9 p.p. higher than in 4Q09.
• Ethylene XXI Project, which provides for the installation of a cracker with ethylene production capacity of 1,000 kt/year, through a JV between Braskem and Pemex, advances with the hiring of the financial advisor to support the structuring of the project finance.
• Braskem's Capital Increase reaches 83% of the announced amount, or R$3.74 billion. As a result, Braskem's capital stock increased to approximately R$7.9 billion, represented by 780,832,465 shares.
• Braskem concluded on 04/27/2010, the acquisition of the common shares of Quattor held Unipar, representing 60% of Quattor's total and voting capital. The Company also acquired the common shares held by Unipar representing 100% of the total and voting capital of Unipar Comercial and 33.3% of the total and voting capital of Polibutenos.
• Braskem announced in April the payment and conclusion of the acquisition of the polypropylene (PP) business of Sunoco Chemicals for US$ 350 million, following the approval by the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
• Braskem financed US$ 530 million in 5-year export pre-payment with a 3 year grace period and cost of labor + 2.5%, aiming at extending the profile of its indebtedness.
• Braskem's Board of Directors approved the investment of US$470 million to expand PVC capacity by 200 kt/year.
• Braskem's consolidated pro forma EBITDA, including Quattor and Braskem America (former Sunoco Chemicals), of the last twelve months reaches R$ 3.5 billion, 11% up when compared to previous period.

The full earnings release is available on the Company's IR website: www.braskem.com.br/ir

Braskem will host conference calls to discuss 1Q10 results TODAY, May 14, 2010, at 12:00 p.m. ET in English and 1:30 p.m. ET in Portuguese. See connection details on the Company's IR website.

SOURCE Braskem S.A.