Chemours Company, Wilmington, reported higher earnings and sales in the first quarter.
Chemours CEO Mark Vergnano said, “We began 2017 with great business performance across all three segments, bolstered by growth of Opteon refrigerants and improved pricing and demand for Ti-Pure titanium dioxide. Our transformation plan initiatives remain a key part of our strategy, as evidenced by the improvements of the Chemical Solutions segment. These results demonstrate that we are getting the full benefit of both market momentum and the strength that is embedded in our businesses and employees.”
EBITA is earnings interest, taxes and amortization. It is a common measurement of financial performance.
First quarter sales were $1.4 billion, an increase of 11 percent from $1.3 billion in the prior-year quarter. Volume growth in Titanium Technologies and Fluoroproducts drove a 15 percent increase in revenue and higher prices in Titanium Technologies added another five percent.
These results were reduced by eight percent due to the effects of asset sales within Chemical Solutions and about 1 percent related to negative currency translation.
First quarter net income was $150 million, compared to net income of $51 million in last year’s first quarter.
Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter 2017 improved by $157 million to $285 million versus $128 million in the first quarter of 2016. This improvement was primarily driven by increased volume and pricing despite the impact of the sales of busness lines in Chemical Solutions.
As of March 31, 2017, gross consolidated debt was $3.6 billion. Debt, net of $898 million cash, was $2.7 billion, resulting in a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of approximately 2.7 times on a trailing twelve-month basis- below the company’s plan target of three times.
Vergnano concluded, “Coming off our strong first quarter results, we now expect our 2017 Adjusted EBITDA to be in a range of $1.15 billion to $1.25 billion. We continue to anticipate that performance will remain strong for both Ti-Pure titanium dioxide and Opteon refrigerants. We have seen earlier than anticipated demand for some of these products, and as a result, expect first half and second half profitability to be more balanced than we saw in 2016. Guided by our transformation plan, we believe we are well positioned for the remainder of 2017, as we continue to strengthen our businesses and benefit from positive market conditions.”
