MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Chemical Co. reported that its net income available for the company common stockholders for the first quarter of 2015 increased to USD1.393 billion from the prior year's USD964 million, with earnings per share improving to USD1.18 from USD0.79 last year, as per company's press release.
In the first quarter of 2015, the Company recognized a pretax gain of USD670 million related to the divestiture of ANGUS Chemical Company and a pretax gain of USD18 million related to the divestiture of the Sodium Borohydride business.
The company also recognized a pretax charge of USD26 million in the first quarter of 2015 for nonrecurring transaction costs associated with the planned separation of a significant portion of the Company's chlorine value chain, consisting primarily of financial and professional advisory fees, legal fees and information systems infrastructure costs.
Operating earnings were USD0.84 per share, up from USD0.79 last year.
But, net sales for the quarter dropped to USD12.37 billion from USD14.46 billion in the previous year. Sales were down 14 percent driven primarily by price declines, due to changes in crude oil values and currency devaluations versus the dollar.
Andrew Liveris, Dow's chairman and chief executive officer, said, "Looking ahead, we expect geopolitical and economic uncertainty throughout 2015, although the oil market is projected to be more favorable behind growing global demand in the coming quarters. In this environment, we will continue to execute against our growth commitments, demonstrated by our investment in bringing 5,000 new products to market in the last twelve months - with a similar amount planned for the next twelve months. In addition, our large Saudi Arabia and U.S. Gulf Coast projects will begin starting up later this year. Collectively these investments set Dow apart by further strengthening our portfolio through economic cycles and fortifying our long-term growth trajectory."
As MRC informed earlier, Dow Chemical Company announced the completed sale of ANGUS Chemical Company to Golden Gate Capital. The company finalized the divestiture of its Sodium Borohydride business to Vertellus Performance Chemicals LLC and certain of its affiliates.
The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene (PS), polyurethane, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and synthetic rubber. EBITDA was up 15% in 4Q at USD2.4 bn. Net profits were down 24% at USD734. Dow's sales in 4Q were unchanged on a year earlier at USD14.38 bn.
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