MOSCOW (MRC) -- Orion Engineered Carbons has raised its fourth-quarter guidance for adjusted EBITDA earnings to a range of USD64-67 million from the previously issued range of USD44-55 million given during its third quarter results on 5 November, said Chemweek.
The upwards adjustment by the carbon black producer is “predominantly attributable to our specialty carbon black business unit, driven by considerably higher volumes, which rose low-double digits sequentially,” says Orion’s CEO Corning Painter. The company also experienced “slightly less” seasonality than anticipated in its rubber carbon black business, where volumes declined mid-single digits sequentially, he says. "We believe both of these trends are an indication that our customers restocked their inventories, to some degree during the quarter, to better manage their supply chains," he adds.
The temporary nature of restocking, combined with broader uncertainties in the economy, make it difficult to forecast how demand will develop from now on, according to Painter. "However, our current order book indicates a strong January and we expect robust demand as the global economy recovers," he says.
Orion's fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2020 results are scheduled for release on 18 February.
As MRC informed earlier, Orion Engineered Carbons has acquired Evonik's 52% stake, and DEG's 15% stake, in Qingdao Evonik Chemical (QECC). QECC is a carbon black joint-venture established by Evonik, DEG and Jiaozhou Finance Investment Center in 1994, in Qingdao, China.
We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in November 2020 by 9.5% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals increased in the first eleven months of 2020 by 6.6% year on year, according to Rosstat's data. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, polymers in primary form accounted for the greatest increase in the January-November 2020 output. November production of polymers in primary form rose to 896,000 tonnes from 852,000 tonnes in October. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 9,240,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 17.1% year on year.
Orion Engineered Carbons is a worldwide supplier of Carbon Black. The company offers standard and high-performance products for Coatings, Printing Inks, Polymers, Rubber and other applications. Our high-quality Gas Blacks, Furnace Blacks and Specialty Carbon Blacks tint, colorize and enhance the performance of plastics, paints and coatings, inks and toners, adhesives and sealants, tires, and manufactured rubber goods such as automotive belts and hoses.
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