Issue 15/2021 - The chemical giant's Q2 results at a glance

BASF's sales in the second quarter were €19.
8 billion, up 56 percent year-on-year.
EBIT before special items amounted to €2.
4 billion; Cash flow from operating activities amounted to €2.
5 billion, mainly due to a significant increase in net income to €1.
7 billion; Free cash flow was €1.
8 billion, up €254 million
from the second quarter of 2020.
Earnings by segment were: Sales in the Chemicals segment increased by 91 percent year-on-year to EUR 3.
4 billion; Sales in the Materials segment rose by 75 percent to €3.
7 billion.
Sales of €2.
4 billion in the Industrial Solutions segment; Sales in the Surface Technologies segment amounted to €5.
9 billion; Sales in the Nutrition & Care segment amounted to €1.
6 billion; Sales of €2.
0 billion in the Agricultural Solutions segment; Sales in the "Other" segment amounted to €793 million
.

Dow earned $2.
51 per share, $2.
72 operating per share, and net sales of $13.
9 billion, up 66% year-over-year and 17% sequentially, with growth across all operating segments, businesses and geographies.
Local prices rose 53% year-on-year and 16% sequentially, reflecting growth across all operating segments, businesses and regions, driven by tight supply and demand fundamentals across key value chains; Transaction volume increased 9% year-on-year, with growth in all business segments, led by polyurethane and silicone applications, recovering demand from the impact of the pandemic; Equity gains of $278 million, up $373 million year-over-year, were primarily driven
by the expansion of polyurethane and polyethylene at the joint venture between Sadara and Kuwait.
Equity earnings increased by $54 million from the previous quarter, primarily driven by joint ventures in Thailand; Shareholder returns for the quarter totaled $722 million, including $522 million in dividends and $200 million in share repurchases
.

Celanese reported second-quarter diluted earnings per share of $4.
81 and adjusted earnings per share of $5.
02; net sales were $2.
2 billion; prices and volumes increased 18% and 4% sequentially, respectively; Operating cash flow was $427 million and free cash flow was $309 million
.
The engineered materials and acetyl product chain businesses successfully offset continued raw material inflation, driving consolidated operating income to $567 million and adjusted EBITDA to $691 million
.
Among them, engineering materials net sales reached a record $682 million in the second quarter, mainly due to a 7% sequential price increase; Acetyl Product Chain net sales of record $1.
4 billion increased 33% sequentially due to sequential price and volume growth; Acetate tow business had second-quarter net sales of $138 million, with stable pricing and volume up 16%
sequentially.

Air Products' earnings per share for the second quarter were $2.
13, down 4 percent.
GAAP net income decreased 3% to $477 million; GAAP net margin was 19.
1%, down 300 basis points
from the prior year.
Second-quarter sales of $2.
5 billion increased 13% year-over-year, primarily due to a 7% increase in energy cost pass-through, a 4% increase in favorable currencies, and a 2%
increase in pricing.

Corning's core sales for the second quarter were $3.
5 billion, up 35% year-over-year and up 17% from the second quarter of 2019.
Core EPS of $0.
53, up 112% year-over-year and up 18% from the second quarter of 2019; Free cash flow was $471 million, up 65%
year-over-year.

AkzoNobel generated sales of €2,511 million in the second quarter, up 26% year-on-year and 29% at constant exchange rates; Operating income of 384 million euros, up 86% year-on-year; Adjusted operating income of €335 million, up 41% year-on-year, excludes the net positive impact of €49 million from identified projects, mainly due to Brazilian turnover tax and UK pension earnings (€31 million in the same period of 2020 from identified projects related to transition costs).

PPG reported net income of $431 million in the second quarter, and net sales were approximately $4.
4 billion, up approximately 45% year-over-year.
Diluted earnings per share of $1.
80 versus adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.
94; a general impact on raw material supply led to a mid-to-high double-digit increase in costs, a 3.
5% year-over-year increase in selling prices, and further pricing measures planned; Sales increased by 24% year-on-year, thanks to a strong recovery in end-user demand.
The favorable foreign translation impacted net sales of approximately 6% or approximately $185 million, and acquisition-related sales increased more than 11%
year-over-year.
The acquisition
of Tikkurila, Wörwag and Cetelon was completed during the quarter.