Dow reported thrid quarter earnings per share of $1.09, or operating earnings per share of $0.82. This compares with earnings of $0.71 per share in the year-ago period, or earnings of $0.72 per share on an operating basis.
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Certain items in the quarter included a gain of $621 million related to the sale of AgroFresh, Dow’s post-harvest specialty chemical business, as well as $51 million of charges associated with ongoing portfolio management actions.
Sales were $12 billion, down 16 percent year over year driven by pricing and currency.
Volume rose 2 percent, excluding the impact of divestitures and acquisitions. Gains were reported in most operating segments, excluding Agricultural Sciences, led by Performance Plastics (up 5 percent) and Infrastructure Solutions and Consumer Solutions (both up 2 percent).
Volume growth, excluding divestitures and acquisitions, was reported in Asia Pacific (up 7 percent), Europe, Middle East, Africa and India (EMEAI) (up 3 percent) and North America (up 1 percent), with a decline reported in Latin America (down 1 percent). In key regions, demand was led by Greater China (up 12 percent), Europe (up 3 percent) and India (up 7 percent).
EBITDA rose to $2.9 billion, or $2.4 billion on an operating basis as Dow captured demand with its innovative solutions in key value chains, including transportation, packaging, infrastructure and semiconductor markets.
Operating EBITDA margin grew 370 basis points to nearly 20 percent versus the year-ago period, reflecting disciplined price/volume management in the midst of declining raw material costs.
This represents the highest third-quarter result since 2005. Gains were reported in Performance Plastics (up more than 700 basis points), Consumer Solutions (up 216 basis points), Performance Materials & Chemicals (up 187 basis points) and Infrastructure Solutions (up 128 basis points), with a decline reported in Dow AgroSciences (down 227 basis points).
Cash from operations was $2.5 billion in the quarter, up more than $700 million, or 41 percent versus the same period last year. Year to date, Dow has delivered $5.2 billion in cash from operations – up $1.4 billion versus the year-ago period. Through the third quarter, Dow returned $1.9 billion in declared dividends and share repurchases.
The company announced the completed sale of Dow Chlorine Products on Oct. 5, 2015, resulting in an additional $1.5 billion of common share buybacks, bringing the total cash returned to shareholders to $3.5 billion year to date. ■