Investments:

Investments include our share of unconsolidated joint ventures, nonmarketable securities and marketable equity securities. The following table details our investment balances at December 31, 2014 and 2013 (in thousands).



	December 31,
	2014		2013
Joint ventures	$	169,891	$	187,843
Nonmarketable securities	177		534
Marketable equity securities	23,974		23,801
Total	$	194,042	$	212,178

Our ownership positions in significant unconsolidated investments are shown below:



		December 31,
		2014		2013		2012
*	Nippon Aluminum Alkyls - a joint venture with Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. that produces aluminum alkyls	50	%	50	%	50	%
*	Magnifin Magnesiaprodukte GmbH & Co. KG - a joint venture with Radex Heraklith Industriebeteiligung AG that produces specialty magnesium hydroxide products	50	%	50	%	50	%
*	Nippon Ketjen Company Limited - a joint venture with Sumitomo Metal Mining Company Limited that produces refinery catalysts	50	%	50	%	50	%
*	Eurecat S.A. - a joint venture with IFP Investissements for refinery catalysts regeneration services	50	%	50	%	50	%
*	Fábrica Carioca de Catalisadores S.A. - a joint venture with Petrobras Quimica S.A. - PETROQUISA that produces catalysts and includes catalysts research and product development activities	50	%	50	%	50	%
*	Stannica, LLC - a joint venture with PMC Group, Inc. that produces tin stabilizers	50	%	50	%	50	%

Our investment in the significant unconsolidated joint ventures above amounted to $154.4 million and $172.9 million as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and the amount included in Equity in net income of unconsolidated investments (net of tax) in the consolidated statements of income totaled $35.4 million, $31.5 million and $37.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively. Undistributed earnings attributable to our significant unconsolidated investments represented approximately $112.9 million and $117.1 million of our consolidated retained earnings at December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. All of the unconsolidated joint ventures in which we have investments are private companies and accordingly do not have a quoted market price available.

The following summary lists our assets, liabilities and results of operations for our significant unconsolidated joint ventures presented herein (in thousands):



	December 31,
	2014		2013
Summary of Balance Sheet Information:
Current assets	$	246,795	$	313,446
Noncurrent assets	181,509		198,776
Total assets	$	428,304	$	512,222

Current liabilities	$	81,613	$	100,469
Noncurrent liabilities	63,585		77,734
Total liabilities	$	145,198	$	178,203



	Year Ended December 31,
	2014		2013		2012
Summary of Statements of Income Information:
Net sales	$	609,728	$	598,459	$	601,233
Gross profit	$	167,156	$	169,406	$	165,650
Income before income taxes	$	102,764	$	101,652	$	105,329
Net income	$	72,247	$	71,294	$	71,561

We have evaluated each of the unconsolidated investments pursuant to current accounting guidance and none qualify for consolidation. Dividends received from our significant unconsolidated investments were $39.6 million, $20.5 million and $25.6 million in 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

At December 31, 2014 and 2013, the carrying amount of our investments in unconsolidated joint ventures exceeded the amount of underlying equity in net assets by approximately $7.0 million and $8.4 million, respectively. These amounts represent the differences between the value of certain assets of the joint ventures and our related valuation on a U.S. GAAP basis. As of December 31, 2014 and 2013, $1.0 million and $1.4 million, respectively, remained to be amortized over the remaining useful lives of the assets with the balance of the difference representing primarily our share of the joint ventures’ goodwill.

The carrying value of our unconsolidated investment in Stannica LLC, a variable interest entity for which we are not the primary beneficiary, was $6.2 million and $5.5 million at December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Our maximum exposure to loss in connection with our continuing involvement with Stannica LLC is limited to our investment carrying value.

Assets of the Benefit Protection Trust, in conjunction with our EDCP, are accounted for as trading securities in accordance with authoritative accounting guidance. The assets of the Trust consist primarily of mutual fund investments and are marked-to-market on a monthly basis through the consolidated statements of income. As of December 31, 2014 and 2013, these marketable securities amounted to $22.2 million and $23.0 million, respectively.

During the year ended December 31, 2012, we and our joint venture partner each advanced $22.5 million to our 50%-owned joint venture, Saudi Organometallic Chemicals Company (“SOCC”), pursuant to a long-term loan arrangement. Our loan bears quarterly interest at the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) plus 1.275% per annum (1.53% and 1.52% as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively), with interest receivable on a semi-annual basis on January 1 and July 1. Principal repayments on amounts outstanding under this arrangement are required as mutually agreed upon by the joint venture partners, but with any outstanding balances receivable in full no later than December 31, 2021. The recorded value of this receivable approximates fair value as it bears interest based on prevailing variable market rates. We and our joint venture partner also each advanced 28.1 million Riyals (approximately $7.5 million at December 31, 2014) to SOCC during the year ended December 31, 2014, pursuant to a long-term loan arrangement. During the year ended December 31, 2012, we and our joint venture partner each advanced €1.9 million (approximately $2.3 million and $2.6 million at December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively) to our 50%-owned joint venture, Eurecat S.A., pursuant to a long-term loan arrangement. These loans have been recorded in Other assets in our consolidated balance sheets at December 31, 2014 and 2013.