| Revenue of $1.58B (-3.72% Y/Y) misses by $38.33M
Olin Corporation (OLN) Q1 2026 Earnings Call May 8, 2026 9:00 AM EDT
Company Participants
Steve Keenan – Director of Investor Relations Kenneth Lane – President, CEO & Director Todd Slater – Senior VP & CFO
Kenneth Lane President, CEO & Director
Thanks, Steve, and thank you to everyone for joining us today. We appreciate your time and your continued interest in Olin.
Let’s start on Slide 3 for a review of our first quarter highlights. Amid a very dynamic operating environment in the first quarter, the Olin team executed with discipline, maintaining focus on running our assets safely and reliably, removing structural costs through our Beyond250 program and preserving liquidity, all while staying firmly committed to our value-first commercial approach. That discipline translated into positive results in the first quarter and sets the stage for stronger earnings in the coming months.
During the first quarter, our Epoxy business returned to profitability, and we saw early signs of demand growth for Winchester commercial ammunition. The Iran conflict introduced significant disruption across global petrochemical supply chains. Sharply higher crude oil prices and freight rates disproportionately impacted non-U.S. producers, further reinforcing the structural cost advantage of U.S. Gulf Coast assets such as Olin’s. While these dynamics did not materially benefit our first quarter results due to normal pricing lags, they meaningfully improved the outlook for the second quarter.
Looking ahead, the near-term backdrop has shifted more in favor of U.S. producers than where we were at the beginning of the year. While the duration of Middle East disruptions remains uncertain, we believe the full impact is still unfolding as global supply chains continue to tighten. We’re seeing significant inventory drawdowns and deferred maintenance temporarily helping bridge supply gaps. This creates a more constructive environment as the year progresses. Olin is well positioned to navigate this dynamic environment, supported by our advantaged asset base, improving cost structure and strong cash generation. As regional customers increasingly prioritize security of supply, we have the flexibility to increase operating rates and capture value while maintaining our value-first commercial approach.
Slide 5 provides a look at our Epoxy results. First quarter 2026 marks an important milestone as our Epoxy business returned to profitability. We expect full year Epoxy performance to be meaningfully improved with our return to profitability driven by several well-executed actions. Our Epoxy team has grown our European business in the wake of regional rationalizations. Our new European cost structure is on course to deliver $40 million to $50 million of annual cost improvement. Our formulated solutions portfolio continues to provide a high-margin platform for growth with a strategic focus on electronics, semiconductors and power generation. And our recent plant closure in Guarujá, Brazil, will further improve our cost structure and strengthen supply integration.
In addition to these actions, we are focused on raising prices, which have been significantly depressed due to subsidized Asian supply. Olin announced March and April Epoxy resin price increases totaling more than USD 1,200 per ton in North America and EUR 1,300 per metric ton in Europe. We expect these increases to offset the higher feedstock and transportation costs.
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