Emirates: Abu Dhabi's Borouge announced a $400 million cost savings drive on Thursday to navigate inflation and supply chain disruptions, as it reported a 17 percent decline in fourth-quarter profit on pricing compression for polyethylene and polypropylene.

The program was introduced "in response to the prevailing market challenges and to sustain its competitive positioning," adding that its core markets, the Asia Pacific and the Middle East, remain stronger than in developed markets, the petrochemicals firm said in a statement.

The polyefins producer said the benefits of its program should mostly be felt in the second half of the year, offsetting anticipated market pressures, and expects the recent shifts in China's COVID policy to stimulate demand, but that would take some time to take effect.

"We will be looking at all levers," Chief Financial Officer Jan-Martin Nufer said in a post-earnings interview.

"We will need to look at all the cost areas, into logistics variable cost and conversion variable costs but also at the fixed costs."

Borouge reported a net profit of $247 million in the three months to Dec. 31 on a pro forma basis, down from $299 in the comparable period a year earlier, it said in a regulatory filing.

Borouge's board has mandated its executive management to actively explore growth opportunities through international expansion, the company said in the filing.

It also reiterated its commitment to pay $975 million in post-initial public offering dividends to shareholders for 2022, of which $325 million has already been paid, and at least $1.3 billion for 2023.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and Austria's Borealis own a 54 percent and 36 percent stake in Borouge, respectively.