Huntsman Sees Sequentially Higher Q3 Results, Despite Hurricane Harvey

(RTTNews) - Huntsman Corp. (HUN), a manufacturer of differentiated and specialty chemicals, Monday said that it expects strong total third quarter results that are better than second quarter results, despite Hurricane Harvey. The company said its strong business results would allow it to mitigate losses from Harvey such that total adjusted EBITDA outlook for the third quarter is better than second quarter.

The results would exclude the Pigments and Additives division, which will now be reported in discontinued operations.

As announced earlier, operations in the Texas Gulf Coast region were temporarily impacted by Harvey. These sites are currently in various stages of operations or startup and will resume full operations as engineering and safety checks are completed and raw materials become available.

The expected improvement is primarily due to the strength of the global Polyurethanes business as well as the continued recovery of the Performance Products business. Additionally, as a result of Harvey, the planned Port Neches turnaround will carry into October, in effect shifting the estimated adjusted EBITDA impact of approximately $15 million to $20 million from third quarter to fourth quarter.

The company currently estimates Hurricane Harvey impact to third quarter adjusted EBITDA to be approximately $35 million to $40 million.

Peter Huntsman, President and CEO, "While our operations in the region were temporarily disrupted, there was no significant damage to any of our manufacturing sites and, except for the planned turnaround at our Port Neches, Texas facility, all are either now operating or are in the process of returning to normal operations. We are proactively pursuing the turnaround at Port Neches to minimize the amount of downtime and return supply to our customers."