DowDuPont said late Thursday that first-quarter operating EBITDA was “down high-teens percent” versus previous guidance of a low-teens percent decline, citing $100-million EBITDA shortalls in both agriculture and materials science. Net sales are down high-single digits percent in the quarter versus previous guidance of down mid-single digits, the company added.
Operating EBITDA in material science, set to spin off 1 April as Dow Chemical, is expected to be down mid-20s percent versus previous guidance of down low-20s percent. EBITDA would be $100 million lower than previous guidance at the midpoint “driven primarily by greater-than-expected margin compression globally in packaging & specialty plastics.”
In agriculture, which will spin off 1 June as Corteva, flooding during the month of March in the US Midwest has halted farming operations, limited the ability to deliver products to customers, and delayed pre-season applications. Operating EBITDA in the segment is expected to be down $125 – $150 million compared to the same quarter last year. An assessment of full-year ag impacts, including potential for recovery in future quarters, will be provided with the full first-quarter earnings release on 2 May.
Operating EBITDA in specialty products, which will operate as DuPont following the spin-off of Corteva, is expected to be in line with previous guidance, the company said.
By Robert Westervelt
Source: Chemical Week
Neste Corporation’s Board of Directors has appointed Heikki Malinen, M.Sc. (Econ.), MBA (Harvard) as the President and CEO of Neste as of 2 November 2024, at the latest. Malinen joins Neste from Outokumpu Corporation where he has held the position of President and CEO since 2020.
Petrochemicals company Sasol has announced that CFO and executive director Hanré Rossouw will step down from his position, effective October 31. Sasol has started the process to appoint a successor. Rossouw will still oversee the publication of Sasol’s reports for the financial year ending June 30, to allow for a structured handover period.
Chemours announced its CFO Jonathan Lock has resigned from all positions within the company, according to an SEC 8-K filing on April 23. The resignation comes in the aftermath of the company announcing that Lock, former CEO Mark Newman, and principal accounting officer Camela Wisel, had been placed on administrative leave.
