26 August 2005
TITAN CHEMICALS’ FIRST HALF EARNINGS FOR 2005 EXCEEDS TOTAL OF 2004

• Profit Before Tax up 112% over same period 2004
• Tax exempt interim dividend of 3 sen per share

26 August 2005, Kuala Lumpur - Titan Chemicals, Malaysia’s first and largest integrated producer of olefins and polyolefins and the second largest polyolefins producer in Southeast Asia, reported continued strong results for the first half of 2005 comprising:

• revenue of RM 2.15 billion against last year’s RM 1.6 billion, a 35% improvement
• earnings after tax of RM 271 million, which is 215% higher than 2004’s RM 86 million
• profit before tax of RM 379 million, an improvement of 112% over the same period 2004
• EBITDA is RM 548 million, a 62% improvement over 2004’s first half
• EPS of 17.4 sen

Based on strong half year performance, the company also announced a tax exempt interim dividend of 3 sen per ordinary share payable to shareholders whose names appear in the Register of Members and Record of Depositors as at 15 September 2005.

Executive Chairman James Chao said, “Our earnings for the first half of this year exceeded what we earned the whole of last year. It has been an exciting 6 months despite challenges posed to our industry. First half improvements are gratifying, and demonstrate the strength of our business plans. We are building up momentum with solid financial performance comprising:

• net debt down 37% to RM 2.0 billion from RM 3.2 billion
• shareholders’ fund increased by 90% to RM2.4 billion from RM 1.3 billion
• Our operating cashflow has almost doubled from RM 248 million to RM 479 million

Mr Don M Condon, Jr, managing director, Titan Chemicals added, “The second quarter was highlighted by continued, rapid deleveraging. Our June 2005 ratio of debt to total assets was 42.6% down from 65.7% at year-end of 2004. We are thus well on our way to achieving our goal of having debt to total assets ratio of 40% by 2006.”

“Our strong business performance includes improved operating rates for all Titan Chemicals’ plants. Our olefins plants are operating at 95% this quarter compared to 89% in the same quarter of 2004 and our polyolefins’ plants are averaging at 98% this quarter, compared to 91% last year. We have thus exceeded the 90% operating rates industry experts expect in times of strong demand,” Mr Condon further added.

Commenting on industry cyclicality concerns, Mr. Chao quoted industry experts, Chemical Markets Associates Inc (CMAI) who anticipate petrochemical upcycle to last longer on the back of continued economic growth combined with some delays in the completion of planned capacity additions in the Middle East.

In a recent report, Bank of America Securities stated that delays in capacity additions could postpone the next cyclical downturn to at least 2008 or beyond. Half the planned capacity through 2010 in Iran and Saudi Arabia, and two-thirds of those plants may be delayed three months to two years, extending the period of profitability for plastics makers.

Mr Don M Condon, Jr, managing director of Titan Chemicals added, “We believe the strong demand is sustainable and that underscores our expansion plans.”

Titan has already begun engineering and design work for additional propylene production from a metathesis plant which will provide the feedstock for a 130 KTA increase in polypropylene production capacity. In addition to this, Titan is adding a new product – butadiene - from a butadiene extraction unit, the first plant of its kind in Malaysia.

During the quarter, the company successfully completed its public listing, and Standard & Poor’s Rating Services upgraded Titan Chemicals’ credit rating to “BB” (stable). The recent de-pegging of the ringgit and its strengthening can result in an exchange gain on our USD-denominated loan.

About Titan Chemicals Corp. Bhd

Titan Chemicals was the first, and is the largest, integrated olefins and polyolefins producer in Malaysia and is the second largest polyolefins producer in Southeast Asia. Titan Chemicals presently operates eight plants on two integrated sites in Pasir Gudang and Tanjung Langsat in Johor, which are connected by a 12-km network of pipelines.

Titan Chemicals operates two principal business units, namely polyolefins, and olefins and aromatics. It has annual olefins production capacity of over 1,000,000 metric tonnes, and polymer capacity of more than 900,000 metric tonnes. Polyolefins are fundamental to the production of many diverse consumer and industrial products including flexible and rigid packaging, fibers and automotive parts. In addition Titan Chemicals has an aromatics plant that produces 200,000 metric tonnes of benzene and toluene. Benzene is used to produce styrene, phenol and cyclohexane which are used in the production of nylon, plastics and rubber. Toluene is used as an octane enhancer in gasoline as a chemical feedstock for benzene and/or paraxylene production as a solvent in paints.

On June 23rd 2005, Titan was successfully listed on the main board of Bursa Malaysia.

For more information, please contact:

1. Mr Francis Pereira, Vice President, Corporate Development Tel: 2093 4222 HP: 012 781 8819
   Or email francisp@titangroup.com
2. Ms Grace Low, Consultant, Corporate Communications at Tel 2093 4222 HP 012 391 7668
   Or email gracelow@titangroup.com

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