Huntsman Corp. announced that its profit and revenues rose in the fourth quarter as the industry slowly recovers from the historic oil crash caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The company said that it earned $343 million in the fourth quarter, up 13 percent from $303 million during the same period a year earlier. Revenue increased slightly to $1.67 billion from $1.66 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019.

For the year 2020, profits zoomed to $1.03 billion from $562 million in 2019.

Peter R. Huntsman, Chairman, President and CEO, commented: "In the midst of a very challenging 2020, our commitment was to emerge stronger and better.  I am very pleased to report that we were able to exceed our expectations.

“Our fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA significantly exceeded our fourth quarter of a year ago, even despite a lagging recovery in Aerospace.  We also delivered a solid fourth quarter and full year free cash flow, beyond what we anticipated. We had added three highly complementary, differentiated businesses to our core portfolio, and are on track to deliver on over $40 million of annualized related synergies.

“Together with our cost realignment and business optimization plans, we target in excess of $120 million of annualized benefits by mid-2023.  Our balance sheet remains very strong.  While we are prepared for macro uncertainties to continue in 2021, we see steady improvements over 2020 in most of our core markets and we remain totally committed to creating value for our shareholders."  

Segment Analysis for 4Q20 Compared to 4Q19

Polyurethanes

The increase in revenues in our Polyurethanes segment for the three months ended December 31, 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 was primarily due to higher MDI average selling prices, partially offset by lower sales volumes.  Both differentiated and component MDI average selling prices increased primarily in China and Europe.  MDI sales volumes decreased primarily due to unplanned supplier outages.  The increase in segment adjusted EBITDA was primarily due to higher MDI margins driven by higher MDI pricing, partially offset by lower MDI sales volumes.

Performance Products

The decrease in revenues in our Performance Products segment for the three months ended December 31, 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 was primarily due to lower sales volumes and average selling prices.  Sales volumes and average selling prices decreased largely due to weakened market conditions across several of our amines businesses.  The slight decrease in adjusted EBITDA is due to the lower sales volumes and average selling prices partially offset by lower fixed costs.

Advanced Materials

The decrease in revenues in our Advanced Materials segment for the three months ended December 31, 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 was primarily due to lower sales volumes, predominantly due to weakness in our aerospace and commodity markets. Sales volumes decreased across most markets primarily due to economic slowdown and customer destocking. Segment adjusted EBITDA decreased due to lower sales volumes, partially offset by lower fixed costs.  The adjusted EBITDA contribution from our recent acquisition of CVC Thermoset Specialties was offset by the lost adjusted EBITDA from the divestiture of our India-based DIY consumer adhesives business.  

Textile Effects

The decrease in revenues in our Textile Effects segment for the three months ended December 31, 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 was due to lower average selling price, partially offset by higher sales volumes.  Average selling prices decreased primarily from market-adjusted pricing aligned to raw material costs.  Sales volumes increased mainly in the Asia region.  Segment adjusted EBITDA was flat with the lower sales revenue being offset by lower raw material costs and lower fixed costs.