WESTLAKE
Q3 earnings and sales slide due to Hurricane Laura / Restructuring charges for European vinyls business
Group headquarters in Houston, Texas (Photo: Westlake) |
Damage from Hurricane Laura on the US Gulf Coast (see Plasteurope.com of 03.09.2020) has wrought havoc on third-quarter earnings and sales at Westlake Chemical (Houston, Texas / USA; www.westlake.com), with lost production and higher maintenance costs cutting net income 64% to USD 57m (EUR 49m). The company also suffered the headwinds of higher feedstock costs and restructuring charges. Operating income fell 65% to USD 79m, and sales declined 8.13% to USD 1.89 bn.
Westlake said many of its facilities in the area of Louisiana’s Lake Charles – home to about one-third of its global chemical production capacity – suffered outages. These resulted in lower sales volumes that eventually crimped revenues. Those at the vinyls segment fell 5.5% to USD 1.53 bn, while the olefins number was down 18% to USD 369m.
Restructuring costs of USD 34m in the European vinyls business also helped diminish that segment’s operating income by 73% to USD 42m. The declines were partially offset by increased earnings in the downstream vinyls products businesses and lower fuel costs.
The operating income for olefines dropped 45% to USD 41m due to the impact of Hurricane Laura and higher feedstock costs, but it improved compared with the second quarter of this year on higher sales prices for polyethylene.
Westlake said many of its facilities in the area of Louisiana’s Lake Charles – home to about one-third of its global chemical production capacity – suffered outages. These resulted in lower sales volumes that eventually crimped revenues. Those at the vinyls segment fell 5.5% to USD 1.53 bn, while the olefins number was down 18% to USD 369m.
Restructuring costs of USD 34m in the European vinyls business also helped diminish that segment’s operating income by 73% to USD 42m. The declines were partially offset by increased earnings in the downstream vinyls products businesses and lower fuel costs.
The operating income for olefines dropped 45% to USD 41m due to the impact of Hurricane Laura and higher feedstock costs, but it improved compared with the second quarter of this year on higher sales prices for polyethylene.
16.11.2020 Plasteurope.com [246354-0]
Published on 16.11.2020