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Finance costs before capitalized interest primarily relate to interest expense on the unsecured notes and limited recourse debt facilities. Capitalized interest relates to interest costs capitalized for the Geismar I project.
Finance Income and Other Expenses
Three Months Ended ---------------------------------- Mar 31 Dec 31 Mar 31($ millions) 2013 2012 2012--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Finance income and other expenses $ (2) $ 3 $ 2----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The change in finance income and other expenses for all periods presented was primarily due to the impact of changes in foreign exchange rates.
Income Taxes
A summary of our income taxes for the first quarter of 2013 compared with the fourth quarter of 2012 is as follows:
Three Months Ended Three Months Ended Mar 31 2013 Dec 31 2012---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amounts excluding Asset Asset Impairment Impairment($ millions) Total Charge Charge Total--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Profit (loss) before income tax expense $ 78 $ 69 $ (297) $ (228)Income tax recovery (expense) (12) (11) 104 93----------------------------------------------------------------------------Net income (loss) $ 66 $ 58 $ (193) $ (135)----------------------------------------------------------------------------Effective tax rate 15% 16% 35% 41%----------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the first quarter of 2013, the effective tax rate was 15% compared with 16% for the fourth quarter of 2012, excluding the impact of the asset impairment charge recorded in 2012.
We earn the majority of our pre-tax earnings in Trinidad, Egypt, Chile, Canada and New Zealand. In Trinidad and Chile, the statutory tax rate is 35% and in Egypt, the statutory tax rate is 25%. We have significant loss carryforwards in Canada and New Zealand which have not been recognized for accounting purposes and this had an impact on the effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2013 of approximately 10%.
SUPPLY/DEMAND FUNDAMENTALS
Methanex Non-Discounted Regional Posted Prices (1) Apr Mar Feb Jan(US$ per tonne) 2013 2013 2013 2013--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------United States 516 516 482 482Europe (2) 505 476 476 476Asia 450 450 435 435----------------------------------------------------------------------------(1) Discounts from our posted prices are offered to customers based onvarious factors.(2) EUR390 for Q2 2013 (Q1 2013 - EUR370) converted to United Statesdollars.----------------------------------------------------------------------------
