The Chemours Company continued to show strong earnings in the first quarter.
First quarter net sales were $1.7 billion, a 20 percent increase from $1.4 billion during the same period a year earlier.
First quarter net income was $297 million, compared to $150 million in last year’s first quarter.
The improvement was primarily driven by higher global average price for Ti-Pure titanium dioxide and broad-based volume growth across all segments. Partially offsetting the gains were higher distribution and raw material costs.
The company has also reduced its debt load, cut costs and bought back stock. Among the casualties was the long-running Edgemoor site that produced its mainstay Ti-Pure.
Shares of Chemours have rebounded from a low of less than $4 a share in 2016 to more than $48 a share.
Chemours CEO Mark Vergnano said, “Last year’s momentum has continued into 2018. We are delivering improved business performance across the company driven by a preference for our Ti-Pure titanium dioxide, continued Opteon refrigerant adoption, and increased demand for our fluoropolymers products.
Vergnano continued, “Complementing this impressive organic growth, I am pleased to announce the completion of our first acquisition,” Vergnano continued. “Our first targeted acquisition bolsters our refrigerant portfolio and broadens our channel access across our markets as we continue to expand our low GWP Opteon portfolio. At the same time, we continued to execute on our balanced capital allocation strategy, repurchasing a total of approximately $400 million of shares since inception, further demonstrating our confidence in our future growth.”
In reference to the company’s earnings outlook, Vergnano offered the following: “Given our strong first quarter results and visibility into the rest of 2018, we are reiterating our expectation that earnings will be at the high end of our previously announced range. We have modified the corresponding adjusted EPS range to reflect our lower share count. We also expect to deliver over $700 million free cash flow in 2018. Our anticipated 2018 performance is indicative of the high returns we believe Chemours can deliver over the next three-years.”
There was no reference to the company’s problems with chemicals found in waterways in North Carolina.
Chemours is based in Wilmington and is building a research and development center at the University of Delaware’s STAR Campus in Wilmington. An overhaul of its headquarters space in Wilmington at the former DuPont Building is also underway.
Chemours is a DuPont spin-off.
