Middle East Shutdown Pulls Solvay Q2 EBITDA Down 18.8%
Solvay reported second-quarter underlying sales of €1.03 billion, down 6.4% as reported and 7.4% organically from the prior-year period.
Underlying EBITDA declined 18.8% to €187 million, or 19.5% organically. The underlying EBITDA margin fell to 18.1% from 20.9%.
Solvay said approximately half of the EBITDA decline resulted from the Middle East conflict, primarily because of the temporary shutdown of its hydrogen peroxide-to-propylene oxide plant in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. Peroxides sales declined 3.5%, while Soda Ash & Derivatives sales fell 8.6% amid lower seaborne pricing and delayed shipments.
“Our second-quarter results reflect the continued challenging economic environment,” CEO Philippe Kehren said. “The conflict in the Middle East had a negative impact on our performance, mainly due to the temporary shutdown since mid-March of our Peroxides plant in the region.”
Solvay expects the plant to restart during the third quarter. The company maintained its full-year guidance for underlying EBITDA of €770 million to €850 million and free cash flow of at least €200 million.
Read the full Solvay results.
Changes in soda ash pricing and peroxide production provide supply and pricing signals for chemical markets connected to coatings formulation, processing and additive technologies.
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