Orica

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Orica is an Australian-headquartered multinational manufacturer of various chemical products, from paints to explosives. It is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange as ASX: [ORI].

History

Initially formed as Jones, Scott and Co., a supplier of explosives during the Victorian gold rush, the company was bought by Nobel. Nobel later merged with several British chemical manufacturers to form Imperial Chemical Industries, and in 1928 the Australian operation was renamed Imperial Chemical Industries of Australia and New Zealand (ICIANZ), which became ICI Australia in 1971. In July 1997, ICI sold its stake in the Australian operation, which then changed its name to Orica, and the new company acquired ICI's global explosives operations. The new name was chosen with the aid of naming consultants, and is an invented word with no special meaning.

Current position

Orica now operates four primary businesses:

The mining services division primarily supplies industrial explosives, and the associated detonation systems and services, to mining companies across many countries. It also supplies chemicals used in mining. It recently acquired the operations of its competitor Dyno Nobel in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa to become the largest supplier of commercial explosvies in the world.

Orica owns 13.5% of Incitec Pivot, the largest supplier of chemical fertilizers in Australia. This stake is intended to be sold as part of a share buy back from IPL, which is currently subject to IPL shareholder approval.

Orica Chemicals supply a wide range of chemicals, including plastics, adhesives, solvents, pool chemicals, and many, many others, primarily to Australia and New Zealand. They are now attempting to expand into Indonesia and China.

Orica Consumer products manufacture and sell a wide range of consumer chemical products, such as Dulux paints (amongst many other brands), Selleys adhesives, car care products, garden products (under the recently-acquired Yates brand), originally in Australia and New Zealand but now expanding into various south-east Asian markets.

Orica's annual revenue is approximately $5.2 billion AUD, with a market capitalization of about $8.1 billion AUD. The company employs about 13,000 people worldwide. Net profit after tax was 326 million AUD in 2004.

The managing director of Orica is Graeme Liebelt, formerly Executive Director & CEO Mining Services division. Former managing director Malcolm Broomhead retired on 31 August 2005 due to health reasons. The board chairman is Donald Mercer, a former executive with Royal Dutch Shell and managing director of ANZ Bank.

External links

[Orica corporate website] – source of most material for this article

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