Huntsman Corporation
HUN
recorded profits of $360 million or $1.54 per share in fourth-quarter 2020, up from a profit of $308 million or $1.34 in the year-ago quarter.
Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings per share were 51 cents in the quarter. The figure topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 44 cents.
Revenues were $1,668 million, up around 1% year over year. The top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,635.2 million. Higher sales in the Polyurethanes segment were offset by declines across other units in the reported quarter.
Huntsman Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Huntsman Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart
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Huntsman Corporation Quote
Segment Highlights
Polyurethanes:
Revenues for the segment rose 5% year over year to $1,030 million in the reported quarter due to higher MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate) average selling prices. MDI sales volumes fell in the quarter due to unplanned supplier outages.
Performance Products:
Revenues for the unit fell 5% to $265 million due to reduced average selling prices as well as lower sales volumes resulting from weak market conditions across several of the company’s amines businesses.
Advanced Materials:
Revenues for the unit dropped 14% to $207 million on lower sales volumes, especially due to weakness in aerospace and commodity markets.
Textile Effects:
Revenues for the division fell 4% to $173 million. The decline was due to reduced average selling prices, partly offset by increased sales volumes.
FY20 Results
Earnings (as reported) for full-year 2020 were $4.66 per share, compared with earnings of $2.44 per share a year ago. Revenues dropped roughly 11% year over year to $6,018 million for the full year.
Financials
Huntsman had total cash of $1,593 million at the end of 2020, up around three fold year over year. Long-term debt was $1,528 million, down around 30% year over year.
Net cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations was $167 million for the fourth quarter while free cash flow was $88 million.
Outlook
Moving ahead, Huntsman said that it is witnessing improvements over 2020 in most of its core markets. The company also remains focused on enhancing shareholder value.
The company also expects to deliver more than $120 million of annualized savings and acquisition integration synergies by mid-2023. It achieved $27 million of targeted annualized savings in 2020.
Price Performance
Huntsman’s shares are up 35.4% in the past year against the
industry
’s 19.2% rise.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Huntsman currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Other top-ranked stocks worth considering in the basic materials space include
Impala Platinum Holdings Limited
IMPUY
,
Fortescue Metals Group Limited
FSUGY
and
New Gold Inc.
NGD
.
Impala Platinum has an expected earnings growth rate of 189.4% for the current fiscal. The company’s shares have rallied around 45% in the past year. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here
.
Fortescue has a projected earnings growth rate of 78.4% for the current fiscal. The company’s shares have surged around 154% in a year. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1.
New Gold has a projected earnings growth rate of 1,150% for the current year. The company’s shares have shot up around 133% in a year. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
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