Company News
August 30, 2019
Recticel Results
 |
| Press Release of Recticel – 30 August 2019 |
FIRST HALF-YEAR 2019 RESULTS
Olivier Chapelle (CEO): “Our topline has decreased by 7.6% during the 1st half of 2019, influenced by soft Automotive and Comfort markets and by selling price erosion as a consequence of the isocyanates raw material cost decrease. In the 2nd quarter, the volumes in our Insulation division remained very strong, and our Bedding division has turned the corner and is back on a growth path. The Group’s profitability has shown good resilience in these unfavourable market circumstances, as profitability improved sequentially in the 2nd quarter versus the 1st quarter. The Flexible Foams division delivered a strong performance, and the lower profitability of the Insulation division, linked to start-up costs of the new plant in Finland and to temporary margin erosion, is back to standard level in the 3rd quarter of 2019. In Bedding, the profitability is improving as from the 2nd quarter, as a result of topline growth and mix improvement, and this trend is expected to extend into the 2nd semester. Strong cash generation has enabled our like-for-like net financial debt to reach a new historic low. The Group continues to optimise its overhead and operating cost structure and the announced closures of its Bedding plant in Hassfurt (Germany) and the Eurofoam Flexible Foams plant in Troisdorf (Germany) have now been finalised.
OUTLOOK
https://www.recticel.com/first-half-year-2019-results.html |
August 29, 2019
Wanhua Steps Back
Amid China, U.S. trade fight, Wanhua reevaluates new $1.25B chemical plant in St. James
Officials behind a $1.25 billion chemical plant proposed for St. James Parish say they are taking a step back to review the scale and location of the new facility.
Wanhua Chemical, a China-based company with investment ties to the Chinese government, announced in November it would be building an MDI complex on 250 acres next to the Occidental Chemical plant in Convent along the Mississippi River. MDI is often used to make manufacture polyurethane foam.
But William Day, an official with Wanhua U.S. operations, said in a statement late Wednesday evening that the project is under review.
“Due to (a) significant increase in the capital expenditure budget of the MDI Project in the past year, the Company decided to change the scope of the Project,” Day wrote in a prepared statement in response to questions. “A new project location is also under review.”
The statement did not give reasons for the increase in capital expenditures, but the company had, before the November announcement, expressed worry in the summer of 2018 about President Donald Trump’s trade fight with China and the effect of the tariffs he had imposed.
Company officials said then that steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by Trump earlier that year were adding “tens of millions” of dollars in costs.
Since Wanhua decided to locate in St. James Parish, the company has tried with mixed success to seek breaks in the tariffs from the U.S. trade representative and has a request pending for Foreign Trade Zone status through the Port of South Louisiana. The zone would provide the company with tariff relief.
Day’s statement does not affirm the company would remain in Louisiana, only in the United States.
“Nevertheless, the Company’s plan and commitment to build an MDI facility in the U.S. remains unchanged, and will continue to implement it,” Day said.
Even before the company’s statements Wednesday, the project had run into road blocks. Wanhua’s pursuit of the trade zone status, which could also affect local tax revenues without an agreement excluding those breaks, came as news to St. James Parish officials in June and led the Parish Council to refer the project back to its Planning Commission last month as part of an appeal by environmental groups.
Then, on Monday, the Planning Commission deferred action for 30 days. Parish officials have said that the deferral was to allow the commission time to digest the impact of the foreign trade zone information — which was not available to the commission when it first approved the plant — and also disclosures from environmental groups that the Chinese government is a Wanhua investor.
The facility needs a land use approval from the parish to proceed.
Community and environmental groups have been fighting the wave of new industrial facilities proposed for the parish’s north end and, in particular, the use of deadly phosgene gas at the Wanhua facility about a mile from homes in Convent. Company officials have said they would follow environmental and safety protocols to protect against leaks or other accidents.
Don Pierson, secretary of the state Department of Economic Development, said the agency “is aware that Wanhua has been facing a handful of challenges regarding its proposed St. James Parish project, and that the company is in the process of re-evaluating its project scope.”
He didn’t offer more details.
The proposed methylene diphenyl isocyanate plant would have been supplied with some key chemical inputs from OxyChem’s plant on River Road.
St. James Parish President Timmy Roussel said in a statement Thursday morning that Wanhua officials have informed the parish that rising construction cost estimates led the company to consider reduce the plant’s footprint by two-thirds.
As a result, “we are told that OxyChem pulled back on their land option,” Roussel said. He said Wanhua is seeking another parcel.
OxyChem officials declined to offer any details.
“We would refer you to Wanhua,” Shane Boyd, a spokesman for OxyChem, wrote Wednesday evening. “We have nothing to offer regarding your inquiry.”
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/article_4c2cf60c-ca51-11e9-a233-c7e3236b79fc.html
August 29, 2019
Wanhua Steps Back
Amid China, U.S. trade fight, Wanhua reevaluates new $1.25B chemical plant in St. James
Officials behind a $1.25 billion chemical plant proposed for St. James Parish say they are taking a step back to review the scale and location of the new facility.
Wanhua Chemical, a China-based company with investment ties to the Chinese government, announced in November it would be building an MDI complex on 250 acres next to the Occidental Chemical plant in Convent along the Mississippi River. MDI is often used to make manufacture polyurethane foam.
But William Day, an official with Wanhua U.S. operations, said in a statement late Wednesday evening that the project is under review.
“Due to (a) significant increase in the capital expenditure budget of the MDI Project in the past year, the Company decided to change the scope of the Project,” Day wrote in a prepared statement in response to questions. “A new project location is also under review.”
The statement did not give reasons for the increase in capital expenditures, but the company had, before the November announcement, expressed worry in the summer of 2018 about President Donald Trump’s trade fight with China and the effect of the tariffs he had imposed.
Company officials said then that steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by Trump earlier that year were adding “tens of millions” of dollars in costs.
Since Wanhua decided to locate in St. James Parish, the company has tried with mixed success to seek breaks in the tariffs from the U.S. trade representative and has a request pending for Foreign Trade Zone status through the Port of South Louisiana. The zone would provide the company with tariff relief.
Day’s statement does not affirm the company would remain in Louisiana, only in the United States.
“Nevertheless, the Company’s plan and commitment to build an MDI facility in the U.S. remains unchanged, and will continue to implement it,” Day said.
Even before the company’s statements Wednesday, the project had run into road blocks. Wanhua’s pursuit of the trade zone status, which could also affect local tax revenues without an agreement excluding those breaks, came as news to St. James Parish officials in June and led the Parish Council to refer the project back to its Planning Commission last month as part of an appeal by environmental groups.
Then, on Monday, the Planning Commission deferred action for 30 days. Parish officials have said that the deferral was to allow the commission time to digest the impact of the foreign trade zone information — which was not available to the commission when it first approved the plant — and also disclosures from environmental groups that the Chinese government is a Wanhua investor.
The facility needs a land use approval from the parish to proceed.
Community and environmental groups have been fighting the wave of new industrial facilities proposed for the parish’s north end and, in particular, the use of deadly phosgene gas at the Wanhua facility about a mile from homes in Convent. Company officials have said they would follow environmental and safety protocols to protect against leaks or other accidents.
Don Pierson, secretary of the state Department of Economic Development, said the agency “is aware that Wanhua has been facing a handful of challenges regarding its proposed St. James Parish project, and that the company is in the process of re-evaluating its project scope.”
He didn’t offer more details.
The proposed methylene diphenyl isocyanate plant would have been supplied with some key chemical inputs from OxyChem’s plant on River Road.
St. James Parish President Timmy Roussel said in a statement Thursday morning that Wanhua officials have informed the parish that rising construction cost estimates led the company to consider reduce the plant’s footprint by two-thirds.
As a result, “we are told that OxyChem pulled back on their land option,” Roussel said. He said Wanhua is seeking another parcel.
OxyChem officials declined to offer any details.
“We would refer you to Wanhua,” Shane Boyd, a spokesman for OxyChem, wrote Wednesday evening. “We have nothing to offer regarding your inquiry.”
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/article_4c2cf60c-ca51-11e9-a233-c7e3236b79fc.html
August 29, 2019
Hexion Q2 Results
Hexion Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2019 Results
COLUMBUS, Ohio–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Second Quarter 2019 Highlights
- On July 1, 2019, Hexion emerged from Chapter 11, successfully completed its balance sheet de-leveraging and reduced total consolidated debt by more than $2.0 billion
- Net sales of $892 million, a 10% decrease versus prior year
- Net loss of $107 million, which included $156 million of reorganization expenses
- Segment EBITDA of $112 million, a 13% decrease versus prior year
Hexion Inc. (“Hexion” or the “Company”) today announced results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019.
“We are pleased to begin a new era for Hexion by successfully completing our balance sheet restructuring in an expedited pace,” said Craig A. Rogerson, Chairman, President and CEO. “Our new capital structure provides us with a strong financial foundation from which we can sustainably operate and grow our specialty chemical product portfolio. As an appropriately capitalized market leader with substantial free cash flow generation capabilities and a lower interest burden, we are well positioned to leverage our leading market positions, global manufacturing footprint, and specialty portfolio. We appreciate the support of our creditors throughout the process, as well as our valued customers, suppliers and associates.”
Mr. Rogerson added: “Second quarter 2019 reflected softer earnings primarily in our base epoxy, Versatic Acids™, and forest product businesses, partially offset by improved specialty epoxy results reflecting positive wind energy demand. Despite softer market conditions in certain end markets, we continue to position the company for a stronger sequential quarter and long-term success, as well as strategically investing in our business, such as our new Application Development Center in Shanghai that is expected to be open by year-end 2019. In addition, we are continuing to look for ways to streamline our business and we recently identified and are beginning to execute on $20 million of new cost savings that we expect to achieve over the next 18 months.”
Second Quarter 2019 Results
Net sales for the quarter ended June 30, 2019 were $892 million, a decrease of 10% compared with $995 million in the prior year period. Pricing negatively impacted sales by $36 million due primarily due to softer market conditions in our base epoxy resins business and methanol price decreases contractually passed through to customers across many of our businesses. Foreign currency translation negatively impacted sales by $34 million due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the euro, Chinese yuan and Brazilian real in the second quarter of 2019 compared to the second quarter of 2018. Volume decreases negatively impacted net sales by $33 million, which was primarily related to volume decreases in our North American resins business due to weaker demand driven by high customer inventory levels and competitive pricing pressures, and in our phenolic resins business due to overall weakness in the automotive and construction industries. These decreases were partially offset by increased volumes in our specialty epoxy business due to strong demand in China wind energy. Segment EBITDA for the quarter ended June 30, 2019 was $112 million, a decrease of $16 million compared with the prior year period, driven primarily by the Company’s base epoxy resins and global forest products businesses, partially offset by cost reduction actions.
Segment Results
Following are net sales and Segment EBITDA by reportable segment for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019 and 2018. See “Non-U.S. GAAP Measures” for further information regarding Segment EBITDA and a reconciliation of net loss to Segment EBITDA.
|
|
|
Three Months Ended June 30, |
|
Six Months Ended June 30, |
||||||||||||
|
(In millions) |
|
2019 |
|
2018 |
|
2019 |
|
2018 |
||||||||
|
Net Sales (1): |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Epoxy, Phenolic and Coating Resins |
|
$ |
512 |
|
|
$ |
564 |
|
|
$ |
1,003 |
|
|
$ |
1,104 |
|
|
Forest Products Resins |
|
380 |
|
|
431 |
|
|
775 |
|
|
837 |
|
||||
|
Total Net Sales |
|
892 |
|
|
995 |
|
|
1,778 |
|
|
1,941 |
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Segment EBITDA: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Epoxy, Phenolic and Coating Resins |
|
$ |
59 |
|
|
$ |
72 |
|
|
$ |
111 |
|
|
$ |
142 |
|
|
Forest Products Resins |
|
66 |
|
|
76 |
|
|
134 |
|
|
143 |
|
||||
|
Corporate and Other |
|
(13 |
) |
|
(20 |
) |
|
(30 |
) |
|
(39 |
) |
||||
|
Total Segment EBITDA |
|
$ |
112 |
|
|
$ |
128 |
|
|
$ |
215 |
|
|
$ |
246 |
|
| (1) |
Intersegment sales are not significant and, as such, are eliminated within the selling segment. |
Epoxy, Phenolic and Coating Resins reported net sales of $512 million in the second quarter of 2019, a decrease of 9% from second quarter 2018 net sales of $564 million. Pricing negatively impacting net sales by $24 million due primarily to margin compression in our base epoxy resins business due to softer market conditions as compared to the second quarter of 2018. Foreign currency translation negatively impacted sales by $21 million, while volume negatively impacted sales by $7 million primarily related to volume decreases in our phenolic specialty resins and versatic acids businesses. These decreases were partially offset by increased volumes in our epoxy specialty business due to strong demand in China wind energy. Segment EBITDA for Epoxy, Phenolic and Coating Resins was $59 million, a decrease of 18% from second quarter 2018 results of $72 million. The $13 million decrease in Segment EBITDA as compared to the prior year was primarily due to weaker base epoxy resins results.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hexion-inc-announces-second-quarter-202400143.html
August 29, 2019
Hexion Q2 Results
Hexion Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2019 Results
COLUMBUS, Ohio–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Second Quarter 2019 Highlights
- On July 1, 2019, Hexion emerged from Chapter 11, successfully completed its balance sheet de-leveraging and reduced total consolidated debt by more than $2.0 billion
- Net sales of $892 million, a 10% decrease versus prior year
- Net loss of $107 million, which included $156 million of reorganization expenses
- Segment EBITDA of $112 million, a 13% decrease versus prior year
Hexion Inc. (“Hexion” or the “Company”) today announced results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019.
“We are pleased to begin a new era for Hexion by successfully completing our balance sheet restructuring in an expedited pace,” said Craig A. Rogerson, Chairman, President and CEO. “Our new capital structure provides us with a strong financial foundation from which we can sustainably operate and grow our specialty chemical product portfolio. As an appropriately capitalized market leader with substantial free cash flow generation capabilities and a lower interest burden, we are well positioned to leverage our leading market positions, global manufacturing footprint, and specialty portfolio. We appreciate the support of our creditors throughout the process, as well as our valued customers, suppliers and associates.”
Mr. Rogerson added: “Second quarter 2019 reflected softer earnings primarily in our base epoxy, Versatic Acids™, and forest product businesses, partially offset by improved specialty epoxy results reflecting positive wind energy demand. Despite softer market conditions in certain end markets, we continue to position the company for a stronger sequential quarter and long-term success, as well as strategically investing in our business, such as our new Application Development Center in Shanghai that is expected to be open by year-end 2019. In addition, we are continuing to look for ways to streamline our business and we recently identified and are beginning to execute on $20 million of new cost savings that we expect to achieve over the next 18 months.”
Second Quarter 2019 Results
Net sales for the quarter ended June 30, 2019 were $892 million, a decrease of 10% compared with $995 million in the prior year period. Pricing negatively impacted sales by $36 million due primarily due to softer market conditions in our base epoxy resins business and methanol price decreases contractually passed through to customers across many of our businesses. Foreign currency translation negatively impacted sales by $34 million due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the euro, Chinese yuan and Brazilian real in the second quarter of 2019 compared to the second quarter of 2018. Volume decreases negatively impacted net sales by $33 million, which was primarily related to volume decreases in our North American resins business due to weaker demand driven by high customer inventory levels and competitive pricing pressures, and in our phenolic resins business due to overall weakness in the automotive and construction industries. These decreases were partially offset by increased volumes in our specialty epoxy business due to strong demand in China wind energy. Segment EBITDA for the quarter ended June 30, 2019 was $112 million, a decrease of $16 million compared with the prior year period, driven primarily by the Company’s base epoxy resins and global forest products businesses, partially offset by cost reduction actions.
Segment Results
Following are net sales and Segment EBITDA by reportable segment for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019 and 2018. See “Non-U.S. GAAP Measures” for further information regarding Segment EBITDA and a reconciliation of net loss to Segment EBITDA.
|
|
|
Three Months Ended June 30, |
|
Six Months Ended June 30, |
||||||||||||
|
(In millions) |
|
2019 |
|
2018 |
|
2019 |
|
2018 |
||||||||
|
Net Sales (1): |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Epoxy, Phenolic and Coating Resins |
|
$ |
512 |
|
|
$ |
564 |
|
|
$ |
1,003 |
|
|
$ |
1,104 |
|
|
Forest Products Resins |
|
380 |
|
|
431 |
|
|
775 |
|
|
837 |
|
||||
|
Total Net Sales |
|
892 |
|
|
995 |
|
|
1,778 |
|
|
1,941 |
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Segment EBITDA: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Epoxy, Phenolic and Coating Resins |
|
$ |
59 |
|
|
$ |
72 |
|
|
$ |
111 |
|
|
$ |
142 |
|
|
Forest Products Resins |
|
66 |
|
|
76 |
|
|
134 |
|
|
143 |
|
||||
|
Corporate and Other |
|
(13 |
) |
|
(20 |
) |
|
(30 |
) |
|
(39 |
) |
||||
|
Total Segment EBITDA |
|
$ |
112 |
|
|
$ |
128 |
|
|
$ |
215 |
|
|
$ |
246 |
|
| (1) |
Intersegment sales are not significant and, as such, are eliminated within the selling segment. |
Epoxy, Phenolic and Coating Resins reported net sales of $512 million in the second quarter of 2019, a decrease of 9% from second quarter 2018 net sales of $564 million. Pricing negatively impacting net sales by $24 million due primarily to margin compression in our base epoxy resins business due to softer market conditions as compared to the second quarter of 2018. Foreign currency translation negatively impacted sales by $21 million, while volume negatively impacted sales by $7 million primarily related to volume decreases in our phenolic specialty resins and versatic acids businesses. These decreases were partially offset by increased volumes in our epoxy specialty business due to strong demand in China wind energy. Segment EBITDA for Epoxy, Phenolic and Coating Resins was $59 million, a decrease of 18% from second quarter 2018 results of $72 million. The $13 million decrease in Segment EBITDA as compared to the prior year was primarily due to weaker base epoxy resins results.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hexion-inc-announces-second-quarter-202400143.html
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