Styrenics producer Trinseo (Berwyn, Pennsylvania / USA; www.trinseo.com) upgraded its full year 2017 outlook after first quarter results beat expectations, thanks to favourable raw material timing, higher margin in Feedstocks and Latex Binders as well as rising sales volume in Performance Materials. Quarterly net income was USD 117m (EUR 106m), or 52% higher than the prior year. The forecast range was USD 100 - 108m. Adjusted EBITDA stood at USD 182m, up 27% and exceeding the USD 170 - 180m goal. Net sales jumped 24%.

Trinseo now expects 2017 net income at USD 337 - 353m and adjusted EBITDA at USD 600 - 620m, compared with its previous targets of USD 310m and USD 580m, respectively. CEO Chris Pappas said he anticipates “strong performance” in the second quarter. He said business fundamentals in the Performance Materials division should remain solid while Basic Plastics & Feedstocks are expected to benefit from higher polystyrene volume and margin.

The Synthetic Rubber segment's quarterly sales rose 60% at USD 163m, with adjusted EBITDA doubling at USD 46.3m. Latex Binders’ adjusted EBITDA improved 96% at USD 37m on sales of USD 289m, up 38%. Higher volumes to European and North American automotive markets helped boost Performance Plastics’ sales 9% at USD 185m but the adjusted EBITDA of USD 27m was 23% down due to unfavourable price lag.

Basic Plastics' sales of USD 381m expanded 11% as the pass through of higher raw material costs was partially offset by lower polystyrene sales volumes in Europe and Asia. Adjusted EBITDA expanded only 3% on lower sales volume and margin. Sharply rising styrene prices resulted in lower demand from customer destocking and there were costs related to the new ABS capacity in Asia.

Feedstocks was also a top performer, posting 22% higher sales at USD 87m and doubling adjusted EBITDA to USD 42m driven by higher styrene margin.