UNIP6 Unipar

Unipar Carbocloro S.A., whose shares trade on B3 under the tickers UNIP3, UNIP5 and UNIP6, traces its origins to 1969, when it was incorporated as União Participações Industriais Ltda. amid the formation of Brazil’s first petrochemical hub in São Paulo. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, it built a significant presence in the domestic petrochemical industry, including as an active participant in the installation and subsequent expansion of the São Paulo Petrochemical Complex. Since its founding, it has held a 50% interest in the joint venture Carbocloro Indústrias Químicas Ltda., in partnership with the Occidental Group, which marked its structural entry into the chlorine and caustic soda value chain. In the following decades, the company was involved in major sector consolidation moves, such as the creation of Rio Polímeros and, in 2008, Quattor Participações S.A., then the second-largest petrochemical company in South America, whose full sale to Braskem in 2010 reshaped the group’s strategic focus.

After the divestment of Quattor, Unipar began a reorientation process back to the chlor-alkali and vinyls business. In 2013, it acquired the remaining 50% of Carbocloro owned by the Occidental Group, thereby holding 100% of its equity and strengthening control over the production base of caustic soda, chlorine and derivatives in Brazil. In 2016, it advanced regional integration by acquiring control of Solvay Indupa S.A.I.C., a producer of PVC and caustic soda in Argentina, later renamed Unipar Indupa S.A.I.C., a transaction approved by CADE at the end of that year. In the years that followed, it gradually increased its stake until reaching 99.1% of Indupa Argentina’s total and voting capital in 2023, consolidating itself as a chemical group with a significant presence in the Brazilian and Argentine markets.

Unipar’s business model is focused on a single operating segment: the production and sale of caustic soda, chlorine, PVC (vinyls) and derivatives, which in 2024 accounted for 100% of net revenue of R$ 5.4 billion. The company operates four strategically located industrial units: Cubatão (SP), Santo André (SP), Camaçari (BA) and Bahía Blanca (Argentina). The Santo André plant, the group’s largest, integrates the chlor-alkali-PVC chain in the region with the highest PVC consumption in Mercosur, while Cubatão stands out as one of the largest chlor-alkali plants in Latin America, with easy access to the Port of Santos. The Bahía Blanca facility is the only PVC producer in Argentina, integrated into a petrochemical hub with road, rail and deep-water port access, and the Camaçari plant, inaugurated in December 2024, marks the company’s production entry into Brazil’s Northeast, connected to the local petrochemical hub and the expected growth of the sanitation market.

Unipar’s main products are caustic soda (in liquid form, flakes and pearls), chlorine, PVC, hydrochloric acid and sodium hypochlorite. Caustic soda is produced via electrolysis of brine and sold both in bulk and in solid form, serving key sectors such as aluminum, pulp and paper, food, soaps and detergents, and chemical and petrochemical industries. Chlorine, also obtained via electrolysis in a fixed ratio to caustic soda, is used in the company’s own internal PVC production chain, as well as in agricultural pesticides, water treatment and disinfection. PVC, produced from chlorine and ethylene acquired from third parties, is used mainly in construction, in pipes, fittings, electrical cables and profiles, as well as in footwear, packaging, hoses and hospital materials. The company also uses the hydrogen co-produced in electrolysis to manufacture hydrochloric acid and generate steam, with part of it sold, reinforcing the integrated nature of its chemical process.

Unipar’s commercial operations are diversified in terms of end markets and geography. Its destination markets include construction, household utilities, pulp and paper, mining and steel, healthcare, food and sanitation, with no revenue concentration in a single client—no buyer accounted for more than 10% of net revenue in 2024. Most sales of chlorine, hydrochloric acid and hypochlorite are concentrated in Brazil’s South, Southeast and Northeast regions, under long-term contracts with sanitation companies and industrial clients. In the PVC segment, the company is one of two producers in Brazil and the only one in Argentina, supplying manufacturers of pipes and fittings, profiles, PVC compounds, laminates, as well as the automotive and toy segments, among others. Pricing for caustic soda and PVC follows international benchmarks and, although the focus is on the Brazilian and Argentine markets, a smaller share of production is exported to other countries in the Americas and Europe.

In terms of scale and competitiveness, Unipar is positioned as one of the main Latin American players in chlor-alkali and PVC. With installed capacity of 729 thousand tons/year of chlorine, 821 thousand tons/year of caustic soda and 540 thousand tons/year of PVC, it ranks among the largest producers in South America in these chains. Competitiveness in the segment is influenced by the cost and availability of raw materials (salt, electricity and ethylene), production scale and location of industrial plants—factors in which the company seeks to position itself through large-scale industrial facilities and logistical access to highways, railways and ports. The group is also a power-intensive consumer and, for this reason, has developed a renewable self-generation strategy through stakes in wind projects (Tucano and Cajuína) and solar projects (Lar do Sol complex) in Brazil, as well as Solalban Energia in Argentina, aiming to reduce costs and exposure to energy price volatility.

Unipar’s geographic footprint combines a strong base in Brazil, which accounted for 74.1% of 2024 net revenue, with a significant industrial operation in Argentina, which represented 22.2% of revenue, in addition to exports to countries such as Bolivia, Paraguay, the United States, Uruguay, Chile, Mexico and Belgium. The industrial units operate under a strict environmental regulatory framework, with operating licenses issued by agencies such as CETESB and DAEE in São Paulo, INEMA in Bahia, IBAMA at the federal level, and environmental authorities of the Province of Buenos Aires and the Autoridad del Agua in Argentina. The company also maintains specific controls over inputs supervised by the Civil Police, Federal Police and Army in Brazil, with periodic reporting of inventories and sales, in line with requirements for controlled-use chemical products.

In the environmental, social and governance (ESG) sphere, Unipar structures its strategy around pillars such as sustainability, competitiveness and sustainable growth, with public commitments for the 2025–2030 period and ambitions through 2050. Its Cubatão, Santo André and Bahía Blanca plants hold ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certifications and adhere to the global Responsible Care program (Atuação Responsável), being a pioneer signatory in Brazil’s chemical sector. The company publishes an annual Sustainability Report following GRI standards and participates in CDP, with a “C” score in Climate Change and Water Security in 2024. In 2024, approximately 66% of energy consumption at its Brazilian plants was supplied by self-produced renewable sources, reinforcing its energy transition agenda. On the social front, it maintains a Social Responsibility Policy focused on education, culture, sports, sanitation and socio-environmental initiatives, and adopts a Code of Conduct and whistleblower channels that formalize integrity practices and respect for human rights across its value chain.

Unipar’s corporate governance is supported by a shareholder structure with recent reorganizations aimed at greater efficiency, such as the creation of Unipar Participaciones S.A.U. in Argentina and the reorganization of holdings in Indupa Brasil. The company maintains a national-scale credit rating from Fitch Ratings, which, since its first rating in 2018, has been gradually raised to AA+(bra) in 2024, reflecting a conservative financial profile, consistent operating cash generation and low leverage. Risk management includes a formal compliance policy, controls over contributions and sponsorships—prohibiting any use for obtaining undue advantages—and occupational health and workplace safety programs anchored in technical standards and Brazilian legislation. As an issuer listed on B3, Unipar combines a capital-intensive industrial profile, based on large physical assets and long-term contracts with industrial and sanitation clients, with a diversified operating base between Brazil and Argentina.