The Chemours Company Reports Third Quarter 2020 Results

WILMINGTON, Del., Nov. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Chemours Company (Chemours) (NYSE: CC), a global chemistry company with leading market positions in Fluoroproducts, Chemical Solutions and Titanium Technologies, today announced its financial results for the third quarter 2020.

Third Quarter 2020 Results & Highlights

• Net Sales of $1.2 billion
• Net Income of $76 million, with EPS of $0.46
• Adjusted Net Income of $78 million, with Adjusted EPS of $0.47
• Adjusted EBITDA of $210 million
• Free Cash Flow of $252 million, a $92 million improvement from prior year
• Repaid the $300 million outstanding revolving credit facility balance
• On October 28, 2020, the company's Board of Directors approved a Q4 dividend of $0.25 per share, consistent with the prior quarter 
• Advanced our Corporate Responsibility Commitments (CRC) with publication of our third CRC report

Update on COVID-19 Response Plan

• All Chemours sites remain operational
• Maintaining health and safety measures across our sites
• On target to reduce FY 2020 costs by $160 million
• On target to reduce FY 2020 CAPEX by approx. $125 million, from approx. $400 million to approx. $275 million
• Preserving strong balance sheet, ample liquidity of $1.7 billion with no near-term senior debt maturities

"Our results in the third quarter demonstrate the progress we have made in executing our business plan and the steady recovery of the auto, architectural coatings and construction markets", said Chemours President and CEO Mark Vergnano. "Despite the COVID-19 headwinds, we continue to deliver on our cash generation strategy which supports our strong balance sheet and liquidity position. We also released our third annual CRC Report – renewing our commitment to leading the industry and our peers on a broad spectrum of ESG targets.  This document remains foundational for the company, and a key component of our long-term strategy."

Third quarter 2020 net sales were $1.2 billion in comparison to $1.4 billion in the prior-year third quarter. Results were driven by lower volumes in Fluoroproducts and Chemical Solutions and lower global average prices, partially offset by higher volumes in Titanium Technologies. Third quarter net income was $76 million, resulting in EPS of $0.46, equal to the prior year. Adjusted Net Income was $78 million, resulting in Adjusted EPS of $0.47, down $0.12 from the prior year, inclusive of a $10 million charge related to our Fayetteville facility. Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter 2020 was $210 million in comparison to $248 million in the previous year third quarter, a result of lower volumes and prices, partially offset by stronger operational performance and lower cost on a year-over-year basis.  

Fluoroproducts
Fluoroproducts segment net sales in the third quarter were $533 million in comparison to $636 million in the prior year.  Volume and price declined 11 percent and 5 percent, respectively, on a year-over-year basis.  Volumes declined primarily due to demand weakness in fluoropolymer products, partially offset by nascent signs of market recovery led by increased customer demand for refrigerants, particularly in the automotive sector as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) continued to improve production following shutdowns in the first and second quarters of 2020. Segment Adjusted EBITDA of $112 million decreased 8 percent versus the prior-year quarter, primarily due to lower net sales partially offset by better operational performance and cost reduction actions. Fluoroproducts segment net sales and Adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter were up 2 percent and 15 percent, respectively, on a sequential basis, primarily driven by early stages of recovery with sequential demand improvement and relative strength of demand from automotive OEMs.

Chemical Solutions
Chemical Solutions segment net sales were $88 million, a 37 percent decrease versus the prior-year third quarter. Prices and volumes were negatively impacted primarily by mine closures in Latin America, related to COVID-19. The divesture of our Methylamines and Methylamides business in the fourth quarter of 2019 resulted in a 19% negative impact on a year-over-year basis. Adjusted EBITDA was $12 million in comparison to $23 million the prior-year quarter, driven by lower volumes and lower licensing income.

Titanium Technologies
Titanium Technologies segment net sales in the third quarter were $612 million in comparison to $614 million in the prior-year quarter. Volumes were up 4 percent versus the prior-year third quarter, a result of demand recovery in the architectural coatings, laminates and plastics markets. Global average selling prices were down 5 percent on a year-over-year basis. Segment Adjusted EBITDA decreased by 6 percent to $129 million, in comparison to $137 million in last year's third quarter. Titanium Technologies segment net sales increased 25 percent on a sequential basis, with Adjusted EBITDA up 37 percent on a sequential basis. Sequential strength in volume was driven by early signs of demand recovery across most geographic regions and end-markets.  

Corporate and Other
Corporate and Other in the third quarter 2020 represented a $43 million offset to Adjusted EBITDA, versus a $34 million offset in the prior-year quarter. This increase was attributable to higher costs associated with environmental remediation matters partially offset by lower external spend.

Liquidity
As of September 30, 2020, consolidated gross debt was $4.1 billion. Debt, net of $956 million cash, was $3.2 billion, resulting in a net leverage ratio of approximately 3.7 times on a trailing twelve-month Adjusted EBITDA basis.  Total liquidity was $1.7 billion, comprised of $956 million of cash and $702 million of revolving credit facility capacity. 

Cash provided by operating activities for the third quarter of 2020 was $299 million, up $11 million from $288 million in the prior-year quarter. Capital expenditures for the third quarter 2020 were $47 million, versus $128 million in last year's third quarter. Free Cash Flow for the third quarter 2020 was a $252 million inflow versus the prior-year quarter of $160 million, an improvement of $92 million.

As previously announced, the company repaid the $300 million outstanding balance on its revolving credit facility during the quarter.

Outlook
Mr. Vergnano concluded: "I am proud of the resilience our business has shown over the first three quarters of 2020.  Our results are a testament to the hard work of the people of Chemours, our dedication to the success of our customers, and our ability to execute in the face of uncertainty.  Looking ahead, I am confident that we are well positioned to create sustained value through the economic recovery and remain committed to achieving our full potential as Chemours."

Conference Call
As previously announced, Chemours will hold a conference call and webcast on Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 8:30 AM EDT. The webcast and additional presentation materials can be accessed by visiting the Events & Presentations page of Chemours' investor website, investors.chemours.com. A webcast replay of the conference call will be available on the Chemours investor website.

About The Chemours Company
The Chemours Company (NYSE: CC) is a global leader in Titanium Technologies, Fluoroproducts, and Chemical Solutions, providing its customers with solutions in a wide range of industries with market-defining products, application expertise and chemistry-based innovations. Chemours ingredients are found in plastics and coatings, refrigeration and air conditioning, mining, and general industrial manufacturing. Our flagship products include prominent brands such as Teflon™, Ti-Pure™, Krytox™, Viton™, Opteon™, Freon™ and Nafion™. In 2019, Chemours was named to Newsweek's list of America's Most Responsible Companies. The company has approximately 7,000 employees and 30 manufacturing sites serving approximately 3,700 customers in over 120 countries. Chemours is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware and is listed on the NYSE under the symbol CC.

For more information, we invite you to visit chemours.com or follow us on Twitter @Chemours or LinkedIn. 

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We prepare our financial statements in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Within this press release, we may make reference to Adjusted Net Income (Loss), Adjusted EPS, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Free Cash Flow, Adjusted Effective Tax Rate, Return on Invested Capital and Net Leverage Ratio which are non-GAAP financial measures. The company includes these non-GAAP financial measures because management believes they are useful to investors in that they provide for greater transparency with respect to supplemental information used by management in its financial and operational decision making.

Management uses Adjusted Net Income (Loss), Adjusted EPS, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Free Cash Flow, Adjusted Effective Tax Rate, Return on Invested Capital and Net Leverage Ratio to evaluate the company's performance excluding the impact of certain noncash charges and other special items which we expect to be infrequent in occurrence in order to have comparable financial results to analyze changes in our underlying business from quarter to quarter.

Accordingly, the company believes the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures, when used in conjunction with GAAP financial measures, is a useful financial analysis tool that can assist investors in assessing the company's operating performance and underlying prospects. This analysis should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. This analysis, as well as the other information in this press release, should be read in conjunction with the company's financial statements and footnotes contained in the documents that the company files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The non-GAAP financial measures used by the company in this press release may be different from the methods used by other companies. For more information on the non-GAAP financial measures, please refer to the attached schedules or the table, "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures to GAAP Financial Measures" and materials posted to the company's website at investors.chemours.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to a historical or current fact. The words "believe," "expect," "will," "anticipate," "plan," "estimate," "target," "project" and similar expressions, among others, generally identify "forward-looking statements," which speak only as of the date such statements were made. These forward-looking statements may address, among other things, the outcome or resolution of any pending or future environmental liabilities, the commencement, outcome or resolution of any regulatory inquiry, investigation or proceeding, the initiation, outcome or settlement of any litigation, changes in environmental regulations in the U.S. or other jurisdictions that affect demand for or adoption of our products, anticipated future operating and financial performance, business plans, prospects, targets, goals and commitments, capital investments and projects, plans for dividends or share repurchases, sufficiency or longevity of intellectual property protection, cost reductions or savings targets, plans to increase profitability and growth, our ability to make acquisitions, integrate acquired businesses or assets into our operations, and achieve anticipated synergies or cost savings, all of which are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and expectations of future events that may not be accurate or realized. These statements are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements also involve risks and uncertainties that are beyond Chemours' control. In addition, the current COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the national and global economy and commodity and financial markets. The full extent and impact of the pandemic is unknown and to date has included extreme volatility in financial and commodity markets, a significant slowdown in economic activity, and increased predictions of a global recession. The public and private sector response has led to significant restrictions on travel, temporary business closures, quarantines, stock market volatility, and a general reduction in consumer and commercial activity globally. Matters outside our control have affected our business and operations and may or may continue to limit travel of employees to our business units domestically and internationally, adversely affect the health and welfare of our personnel, significantly reduce the demand for our products, hinder our ability to provide goods and services to customers, cause disruptions in our supply chains, adversely affect our business partners or cause other unpredictable events. Additionally, there may be other risks and uncertainties that Chemours is unable to identify at this time or that Chemours does not currently expect to have a material impact on its business. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020 and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. Chemours assumes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement for any reason, except as required by law.

CONTACT:

INVESTORS 

Jonathan Lock 
VP, Corporate Development and Investor Relations 
+1.302.773.2263 
investor@chemours.com 

NEWS MEDIA 

Thomas Sueta
Director, Corporate Communications
+1.302.773.3903
media@chemours.com

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SOURCE The Chemours Company