Issue 21/2017 - Third quarter results of chemical giants

The third quarter results of the chemical giants at a glance

BASF achieved significant sales and earnings growth
in the third quarter.
Compared with the same quarter last year, sales rose by 9% to EUR 15.
3 billion; EBIT before special items rose by €244 million to €1.
8 billion, while EBIT included net special items of €198 million, compared to minus €52 million in the same quarter
last year.
As a result, EBIT increased to €2 billion; EBITDA before special items rose €303 million to €2.
8 billion, while EBITDA rose €570 million to €3.
0 billion and net income rose €448 million to €1.
3 billion
.

Covestro's net income rose 89.
6 percent in the third quarter from the same period last year to €491 million; EBITDA and sales rose by 50.
2 percent and 16.
9 percent year-on-year, respectively, to €862 million and €3.
5 billion, while core volumes increased by 2.
6 percent, particularly in the Polyurethanes division.
Free operating cash flow (FOCF) rose by 1.
9% year-on-year to EUR 658 million
.
Based on these strong results, Covestro decided to reassess its previously announced target
of a cumulative FOCF total of €5 billion by the end of 2021.

WACKER's sales in the third quarter were €1,311.
6 million (Q3 2016: €1,150.
8 million), up 14 percent year-on-year and 8 percent higher than in Q2 2017 (€1,218.
3 million).
EBITDA of €298 million, up 13 percent year-on-year and 18 percent quarter-over-quarter.
Net income for the current period was EUR 104 million, net cash flow was significantly surplus at EUR 205 million, and Group profit forecast has been revised upwards: EBITDA for the full year 2017 will be around EUR 1 billion, and the growth rate of Group sales will remain unchanged to a mid-single-digit percentage
.

Eastman reported earnings per diluted share of $2.
22 for the third quarter, compared to $1.
56 in the third quarter of 2016, and adjusted diluted earnings per share of $2.
19, compared to $
1.
86 for the same period in 2016.
Eastman's operating activities generated $528 million in cash flow, primarily due to solid net income
.
Total borrowings decreased by $187 million in the third quarter of 2017, with share repurchases totalling $100 million
.
In addition to the financial impact of the Kingsport production site incident, the company expects to achieve the previously set target
of 2017 adjusted earnings per share growth of 10%~12% compared to 2016 at a high level.

Akzonobel sales increased 2% and sales increased 1% in the third quarter; EBIT amounted to €383 million, compared to €442 million in 2016, and around €25 million of EBIT was directly affected by Hurricane Harvey and other events.
Earnings per share were adjusted to EUR 1.
07, compared to EUR
1.
20 in 2016.
The company launched the first phase of its transformation plan to create an organizational structure for the paints and coatings business, reducing expenses by EUR 110 million in 2018 in order to meet its 2020 financial guidance targets
.

Celanese earned $1.
68 per diluted share in the third quarter on a GAAP basis, the second-highest all-time high in the third quarter; Adjusted earnings per share were a record high of $1.
93; Net sales increased 18% year-over-year to $1.
6 billion
.
The Acetyl Product Chain segment overcame the devastating impact of Hurricane Harvey by implementing a flexible business model, thereby improving profitability
.
The original products and acquired polymer businesses of the High Performance Engineering Materials Division (AEM) expanded the commercialization of
projects in all regions.

Corning's third-quarter results reflect the continued success of Corning's strategy and capital allocation framework: GAAP and core sales increased 4 percent and 6 percent year-over-year to $2.
6 billion and $2.
7 billion, respectively; Third-quarter GAAP and core earnings per share were up $0.
39 and $0.
43, respectively, up year-over-year; optical communications grew strongly, with sales up 15% year-over-year, and specialty materials sales up 26%.



PPG's net sales from continuing operations in the third quarter were approximately $3.
8 billion, up more than 3% from the year-ago quarter.
Sales increased by nearly 1 percent, mainly due to natural disasters; Favorable currency effects contributed approximately $65 million to net sales, an impact of nearly 2%; Net income from continuing operations was $392 million, or $1.
52 per diluted share, including approximately 5 cents of adverse effects related to natural disasters, and net margin declined 160 basis points year-over-year (130 basis points excluding natural disaster impacts), net loss from continuing operations of $211 million, or $0.
79 per share, and adjusted net income from continuing operations of $405 million, or $
1.
52 per share.