Company News
April 29, 2024
Olin Results
Olin Announces First Quarter 2024 Results
Apr. 25, 2024 4:05 PM ETOlin Corporation (OLN)
Q1: 2024-04-25 Earnings Summary
EPS of $0.45 beats by $0.09 | Revenue of $1.64B (-11.33% Y/Y) misses by $12.71M
Highlights
- First quarter 2024 net income of $48.6 million, or $0.40 per diluted share
- Quarterly adjusted EBITDA of $242.1 million
- Share repurchases of $105.4 million in first quarter 2024
CLAYTON, Mo., April 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Olin Corporation (OLN) announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024. First quarter 2024 reported net income was $48.6 million, or $0.40 per diluted share, which compares to first quarter 2023 reported net income of $156.3 million, or $1.16 per diluted share. First quarter 2024 adjusted EBITDA of $242.1 million excludes depreciation and amortization expense of $129.7 million and restructuring charges of $8.3 million. First quarter 2023 adjusted EBITDA was $434.1 million. Sales in the first quarter 2024 were $1,635.3 million, compared to $1,844.3 million in the first quarter 2023.
Ken Lane, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “All first quarter 2024 business segment results improved sequentially from fourth quarter 2023, which begins Olin’s recovery from trough-level earnings. During the quarter, the Olin team delivered on our commitment to accelerate a favorable inflection point for our Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls business. We expect this momentum to continue with second quarter 2024 results, as demand and pricing continue to improve. We expect our Chemical businesses to be sequentially higher than first quarter 2024 levels and our Winchester business to be in line with first quarter results, as a less favorable mix and higher raw material costs offset stronger military volumes. Overall, we anticipate Olin’s second quarter 2024 adjusted EBITDA to improve from first quarter 2024 levels. Based on our current outlook for the pace of demand and pricing improvement for our Chemical businesses, we currently believe Olin’s full year 2024 adjusted EBITDA to be similar to or slightly higher than 2023 levels.”
Commenting on his recent appointment as President and CEO, Lane continued, “I am excited about building upon Olin’s strong foundation and confident in our ability to sustain strong earnings and cash flow performance. As such, we will continue our disciplined capital allocation strategy, while committing to maintain an investment-grade balance sheet. We remain committed to our approach to preserve electrochemical unit (“ECU”) values and will continue to align our operating rates and product purchases to match the weaker side of the ECU, while refraining from selling incremental volume into poor-quality markets.”
SEGMENT REPORTING
Olin defines segment earnings as income (loss) before interest expense, interest income, other operating income (expense), non-operating pension income, other income, and income taxes.
EPOXY
Epoxy sales for the first quarter 2024 were $341.3 million, compared to $360.7 million in the first quarter 2023. The decrease in Epoxy sales was primarily due to lower product pricing partially offset by improved volumes. First quarter 2024 segment loss was ($11.8) million, compared to segment earnings of $21.4 million in the first quarter 2023. The $33.2 million decrease in Epoxy segment earnings was primarily due to lower pricing, partially offset by increased volumes and lower raw material and operating costs. Epoxy first quarter 2024 results included depreciation and amortization expense of $13.5 million compared to $14.5 million in the first quarter 2023.
April 29, 2024
MDI Overview
MDI Facility Disruptions Resurface? China PMDI Market Review – April 2024
PUdaily | Updated: April 29, 2024
MDI Facility Disruptions Resurface?
The MDI facility dynamics in North America are attracting market attentions. According to market sources, unplanned shutdowns have occurred at some North American MDI facilities, including BASF and Covestro. Their combined capacity contributes 44% of the total MDI capacity in North America. The impact on their supply and deliveries are under assessment. Before it, and in late March, BorsodChem Hungary declared force majeure on MDI products supply, which led to increasing PMDI exports from China to Europe in March. In March 2024, China exported 37 kT PMDI to Europe, a 345.1% increase from this February, according to China’s customs statistics. If excluding the factors related to Chinese New Year holiday, China’s PMDI exports to Europe in March increased by 62.2% compared to this January.
China PMDI Market Review – April 2024
As of April 26, 2024, the average price of spot PMDI goods in China is around CNY 16,438/tonne, showing a 0.5% increase compared to this March (CNY 16,350/tonne), according to PUdaily. In this month, Chinese PMDI market showed a trend of bottoming out. The PMDI market prices climbed gradually from CNY 15,700-16,300/tonne on April 1 to CNY 16,400-17,000/tonne on April 29. The increase trend was attributed by the supports both from supply and demand sides.
In terms of supply, The settlement prices from major PMDI suppliers were higher than market expectations; Covestro also increased its weekly contract prices to distributors week-by-week. All above provided strong support for the April market because the purchase costs from distributors and traders kept at relatively high levels. Major PMDI suppliers also reduced supplies to direct and/or indirect customers, alleviating ovearll sales pressures in distribution market. In terms of demand, the refrigerator and formaldehyde-free panel sectors continued their year-on-year growths in sales and outputs; following destocking measures, downstream manufacturers in construction sectors significantly increased their purchases for PMDI this month to gear up for the May Day holiday.
China PMDI Market Outlook – May 2024
In terms of supply, MDI facilities of BASF Shanghai and Wanhua Ningbo are scheduled to shut down for maintenance in this May, which may lead to supply allocations. In terms of demand, refrigerator, one of major PMDI downstream sectors, the production in May is forecasted to reach 8.5 million units, the highest level since the year of 2005, and will increase by 13.4% year-on-year, according to ChinaIOL.com. The robust demand provides a support for Chinese PMDI market.
April 29, 2024
Wanhua TDI Expansion Plans
Wanhua Chemical’s TDI Expansion to Lead Global Production
PUdaily | Updated: April 25, 2024
Wanhua Chemical, a significant player in the chemical industry, recently announced key developments in its TDI (toluene diisocyanate) production capacity expansion plans. The company’s official website disclosed the Environmental Impact Assessment Reports for two crucial projects.
On April 18, the Phase II Expansion Project of TDI, with a capacity of 360,000 tons per year, was unveiled by Wanhua Chemical (Fujian) Co., Ltd. This expansion project marks a notable step forward in the company’s strategic growth initiatives.
Shortly thereafter, on April 23, Wanhua Chemical’s official website released the Environmental Impact Assessment Report for the Phase I Technological Improvement and Capacity Expansion Project of TDI, also with a capacity of 360,000 tons per year.
The Phase I project involves significant upgrades to existing TDI production units, including nitration, acid concentration, hydrogenation, phosgenation, and refining units. These enhancements will boost the production capacity from 250,000 tons per year to 360,000 tons per year.
Meanwhile, the Phase II Expansion Project of TDI by Wanhua Chemical (Fujian) Co., Ltd. is poised to have a notable impact. Situated in the Jiangyin Industrial Concentration Zone in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, this project covers an area of 49,065 square meters. It encompasses the construction of advanced process units, including nitration, hydrogenation, and phosgenation units, alongside auxiliary and public engineering units. Once operational, the facility will produce 360,000 tons of TDI annually.
Together, these expansion projects will increase Wanhua Chemical’s TDI production capacity by 470,000 tons. With a total TDI production capacity of 1.42 million tons per year, Wanhua Chemical is poised to solidify its position as a significant player in the global chemical industry landscape.
April 24, 2024
POSM Unit in Europe Back Onstream
Europe styrene output to rise as force majeures lifting in H2 April
A force majeure was declared on polyolefins in March at LyondellBasell’s and Covestro’s jointly-owned propylene oxide styrene monomer (POSM) plant in Maasvlakte, the Netherlands. The POSM plant had been taken offline in mid-December as a preventative measure and came back online in second half February. A spokesperson for LyondellBasell confirmed OPIS Tuesday that the “unit at Maasvlakte is up and running.”
LyondellBasell’s site at Maasvlakte produces 680,000 metric tons/year of styrene, the largest styrene manufacturing unit in Europe, and 313,000 mt/year of propylene oxide, according to data from Chemical Market Analytics (CMA) by OPIS, a Dow Jones company. TotalEnergies produces 600,000 mt/year styrene at Gonfreville, the second largest European production site, CMA data showed.
April 18, 2024
Trade Action on Epoxy Resin
Olin Among U.S. Epoxy Resin Producers Filing Trade Cases Against Five Countries
News provided by Olin Corporation
Apr 03, 2024, 16:05 ET
CLAYTON, Mo., April 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Olin Corporation (NYSE: OLN) today announced the filing of antidumping and countervailing duty petitions against five countries related to certain epoxy resins, as part of the U.S. Epoxy Resin Producers Ad Hoc Coalition. The petitions charge that unfairly traded imports of certain epoxy resins from China, India, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand are causing material injury to the domestic epoxy resin industry. The petitions further charge that significant subsidies have been provided to the foreign producers by the governments of China, India, South Korea, and Taiwan. The U.S. producers in the Coalition, including Olin, produce epoxy resins, an essential component for which there are no practical substitutes, for various customer applications, including critical U.S. industries such as Aerospace, Automotive, Defense, Electrical Transmission, Semiconductors, and Wind Energy. Having domestically produced epoxy resins is vital to ensuring that the U.S. manufacturing industry is capable of meeting domestic preference requirements contained in important U.S. legislation like The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the CHIPS and Science Act. The availability of domestic epoxy production is also important to ensure U.S. industry has supply chain resiliency.
“We have been facing a significant volume of what we believe are unfairly dumped and subsidized imports of epoxy resin into this country,” said Florian Kohl, President, Olin Epoxy. “These unfairly traded imports have seriously impacted pricing in the U.S. market, which has resulted in a significant negative effect on our production, sales, and earnings. Without relief under U.S. law, unfairly traded imports will undermine the sustainability of U.S. producers and the welfare of their workers and local communities.”
The petitions were filed today with the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce Department”) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (“USITC”). The five countries covered by the antidumping petitions and the dumping margins alleged by the domestic industry are as follows:
| COUNTRY | DUMPING MARGINS ALLEGED |
| China | 264.87% – 351.97% |
| India | 11.43% – 17.50% |
| South Korea | 30.01% – 69.42% |
| Taiwan | 87.19% – 136.02% |
| Thailand | 163.94% – 205.63% |
The petitions also allege that the foreign producers benefit from numerous countervailable subsidies. The petitions were filed in response to large volumes of low-priced imports of epoxy resins from the subject countries over the past three years that have injured the domestic epoxy resin producers.
The petitions allege that producers in the subject countries have injured the U.S. epoxy resin producers by selling their products at unfairly low prices that significantly undercut the prices of U.S. producers. As a result, imports of epoxy resins have captured an increasing share of the U.S. market at the direct expense of the U.S. industry. The price declines that U.S. producers have suffered are likely to continue if duties are not imposed to level the playing field.
Antidumping duties are intended to offset the amount by which a product is sold at less than fair value, or “dumped,” in the United States. The margin of dumping is calculated by the Commerce Department. Estimated duties in the amount of the dumping are collected from importers at the time of importation. Countervailing duties are intended to offset unfair subsidies that are provided by foreign governments and benefit the production of a particular good. The USITC, an independent agency, will determine whether the domestic industry is materially injured or threatened with material injury by reason of the unfairly traded imports.
OLIN COMPANY DESCRIPTION
Olin Corporation is a leading vertically integrated global manufacturer and distributor of chemical products and a leading U.S. manufacturer of ammunition. The chemical products produced include chlorine, caustic soda, vinyls, epoxies, chlorinated organics, bleach, hydrogen, and hydrochloric acid. Winchester’s principal manufacturing facilities produce and distribute sporting ammunition, law enforcement ammunition, reloading components, small caliber military ammunition and components, industrial cartridges, and clay targets.
Everchem Updates Archive 
Sign Up for Email Updates