Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: Huntsman’s net income in the first nine months of 2020 was US$691m, more than doubled from US$259m in the corresponding period of 2019. This was in spite of a fall in sales of 15% to US$4.35bn from US$5.14bn. Its polyurethanes (PU) segment recorded sales of US$2.55bn, down by 13% from US$2.93bn, and earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$271m, down by 36% from US$426m. The company attributed the sector’s sales fall in the third quarter of 2020 to “lower methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) average selling prices,” which “decreased across most major markets in relation to the global economic slowdown resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.” It added, “Overall polyurethanes sales volumes were roughly flat when including sales volumes in connection with the Icynene-Lapolla Acquisition. The increase in segment adjusted EBITDA was primarily due to lower raw material costs and lower fixed costs, as well as additional sales volumes in connection with the Icynene-Lapolla Acquisition, partially offset by lower MDI pricing.”

President, chair and chief executive officer (CEO) Peter Huntsman said, “The third quarter proved to be better than we had anticipated with improving conditions in almost all of our businesses. Although the global community continues to face significant challenges around Covid-19, we see positive momentum entering the fourth quarter. We remain fully on track in integrating our two downstream acquisitions completed earlier this year and in delivering in excess of US$100m of annualised synergies and savings from our previously announced cost optimization initiative by the end of 2021.”