"The whole year has been excellent. We're selling everything we produce. The year will finish as a very high year for SABIC," said Mohammed Al-Mady, who heads the Middle East's biggest company by market value. 

SABIC posted a 54-percent rise in its third-quarter net profit, beating analyst expectations on the back of high product prices and continued strong global demand.

The company made a record net profit of SR8.2 billion ($2.2 billion) in the three months ended September 30, compared with SR5.3 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Earlier Al-Mady told an industry gathering that the sector was experiencing some weakness in demand in the fourth quarter, especially from emerging economies.

He said in the interview that he expected this to be a temporary phenomenon.

"It's softening for a small period of time — it will come back," he said.

"2012 will be another good year for everybody...not much capacity is coming on stream."

The chemical industry's financial health often serves as a barometer for the global economy since its products are used to produce a wide range of consumer goods, from toys and toothbrushes to smartphones and solar panels.

The sector's dependence on highly cyclical machinery makers, carmakers and builders makes it especially vulnerable to a downturn.

Many of its customers have been drawing down their own supplies in the fourth quarter before they refresh inventories.

SABIC's bullish comments are in contrast to comments from its large rivals. 

Chemical maker DuPont cut its 2011 profit outlook earlier this month due to weak electronics and housing markets, though said it expected to beat Wall Street's earning forecasts next year.

And in October, European chemical groups warned of slowing demand from construction industry customers in both fast-growing Asia and moribund Europe, compounding problems with rising raw materials costs.

Germany's Bayer flagged a slowdown in China's robust construction sector, while global chemical industry leader BASF said its construction chemicals business was unable to fully pass on higher raw material prices to customers.