Huntsman Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Third-quarter conditions are expected to remain stable after improved second-quarter margins, but Huntsman sees subdued global demand growth of roughly 0% to 2%, weak North American housing indicators and uneven consumer confidence. Advanced Materials volume rose 8% in the second quarter, led by demand from power-grid infrastructure, renewable energy, artificial intelligence-related electricity investment and aerospace. Industrial Elastomers and spray foam insulation also posted solid growth. Huntsman reiterated support for its proposed merger with Olin, targeting approximately $300 million in synergies plus more than $100 million of potential benefits after a chlorine supply contract expires; net leverage improved to 5.4 times and is expected to approach four times by year-end.

Huntsman said it expects relatively stable conditions in the third quarter after improving margins in the second quarter, while management cited subdued demand growth, weaker North American housing indicators and uneven consumer confidence across major regions. Chairman, CEO and President Peter Huntsman said the company was able to raise prices in its MDI business during the second quarter, largely to recover higher raw-material costs. He said the company’s EBITDA nearly doubled from the second quarter of the prior year, although he remains concerned about the pace of demand recovery.

“On the supply side, I think it’s pretty well-balanced,” Huntsman said of the MDI market. “On the demand side, I’d like to see a little bit more.” He estimated global demand growth at roughly 0% to 2%, depending on geography, and said stronger North American housing activity, improved Asian consumer confidence and lower energy inflation in Europe would support the market.

Huntsman described July results and order patterns heading into September as stable. He said the company sees both headwinds and tailwinds entering the third quarter, but that current conditions appear balanced. In Europe, Huntsman said pricing actions and the company’s cost structure should enable its operations there to be EBITDA-positive in the third quarter. However, he identified European energy costs and consumer demand as the principal risks. Natural gas prices in Europe had increased from roughly $13 to $14 per MMBtu to above $20 per MMBtu over the preceding two to three weeks, he said. Management estimated global MDI industry capacity utilization in the mid-80% range, with U.S. utilization tighter than that level, Europe somewhat looser and Asia near the global average. Huntsman said industry outages had occurred, but that markets would be tighter if demand were expanding at historical annual rates of 4% to 6%. The company does not expect significant effects from the return of supply disruptions in the U.S. MDI market during the third quarter. Huntsman said inventory had entered the second quarter at elevated levels in anticipation of a stronger housing season that did not develop as expected, leaving the supply-demand environment relatively flat heading into the third quarter. Regarding U.S. anti-dumping duties on MDI, Huntsman said the measures should improve the market floor over time compared with a year ago, but cautioned that the benefits would likely emerge over multiple quarters and depend on a recovery in housing and demand. He noted that MDI can still reach the U.S. market indirectly through trade flows involving Canada, Mexico and Latin America. Huntsman said a competitor’s polyol outage provided a low-$2 million to $3 million benefit during the second quarter. CFO and Executive Vice President Phil Lister said ...