THE WOODLANDS, Texas, July 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ —

Second Quarter 2017 Highlights

• Net income was $183 million compared to $94 million in the prior year period and $92 million in the prior quarter.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $413 million compared to $325 million in the prior year period and $329 million in the prior quarter.
• Diluted income per share was $0.69 compared to $0.36 in the prior year period and $0.31 in the prior quarter.
• Adjusted diluted income per share was $0.85 compared to $0.53 in the prior year period and $0.57 in the prior quarter.
• Net cash provided by operating activities was $301 million. Free cash flow generation was $251 million.
• On July 26, 2017, we made a $100 million early repayment of debt on our term loan B due 2019.
• Our Pigments and Additives division (Venator (VNTR)) launched its initial public offering on July 24, 2017.
• Our definitive agreement to merge with Clariant remains on track.  We are confident in our ability to achieve in excess of $400 million in annual cost synergies with another $25 million in annual tax savings, creating in excess of $3.5 billion of value for shareholders

Huntsman Corporation (HUN) (NYSE: HUN) today reported second quarter 2017 results with revenues of $2,616 million, net income of $183 million and adjusted EBITDA of $413 million.

Peter R. Huntsman, our President and CEO, commented:

“I am very pleased with the progress made in the second quarter.  Our businesses continue to benefit from solid underlying fundamentals, enhanced free cash flow generation, and our downstream strategy.  We are on pace to achieve earnings growth in each of our business segments in 2017.  I see continued room for further improvement.  Our downstream differentiated businesses continue to do well with MDI urethanes delivering a strong performance. Performance Products continues to recover off of a difficult 2016 and for the first time since 2015 showed growth versus the prior year.  We realized $251 million of free cash flow in the second quarter and $333 million year to date. We target generating in excess of $150 million of free cash flow in the second half, excluding Pigments and Additives. When combining what we have achieved year to date with the remaining year expectation which excludes Pigments and Additives, we are on track to exceed the previously communicated 2017 full year free cash flow target of greater than $450 million.  We have repaid $265 million of debt year to date, including an early repayment of $100 million made yesterday.

“This is an unprecedented and transformational time for our Company.  This week we launched the initial public offering of Venator, our Pigments and Additives business, the proceeds of which will be used to reduce our debt.  Furthermore, having begun our integration planning with Clariant, we are now more confident than ever in our ability to exceed our stated synergy targets, seamlessly integrate these two complementary organizations and create significant value for the combined company’s shareholders.

“Since announcing the transaction, we continue to identify additional integration and complementary geographical opportunities that will allow us to strengthen further our combined businesses including exposure to new downstream markets.  We are highly confident in our ability to exceed $400 million in annual cost synergies and another $25 million in tax savings. This will create in excess of $3.5 billion of value for shareholders which does not give credit to the existing and meaningful commercial opportunities. Our combined balance sheet with pro-forma leverage of under 1.5x will provide great flexibility for growth and enhanced capital return. This transaction is compelling from every aspect and offers significant value creation opportunity to shareholders.  We are highly confident that shareholders will support the transaction as we work to close near year end.”

Segment Analysis for 2Q17 Compared to 2Q16

Polyurethanes

The increase in revenues in our Polyurethanes segment for the three months ended June 30, 2017 compared to the same period of 2016 was primarily due to higher average selling prices, partially offset by lower sales volumes. MDI average selling prices increased in response to higher raw material costs and continued strong market conditions. MTBE average selling prices increased primarily as a result of higher pricing for high octane gasoline. MDI and MTBE sales volumes decreased due to the impact of maintenance outages during the second quarter of 2017. The decrease in segment adjusted EBITDA was primarily due to lower MTBE earnings and the impact of maintenance outages, partially offset by higher MDI margins.

https://seekingalpha.com/pr/16898029-huntsman-announces-second-quarter-2017-results-strong-earnings-growth-operating-cash-flow