- First quarter sales of $846 million in line with guidance
- GAAP EPS of $0.23 includes special items primarily related to restructuring costs as detailed in Attachment 3
- Adjusted EPS of $0.63 exceeded guidance of $0.55, driven by better-than-projected margins in both segments
- Full year adjusted EBITDA and EPS guidance of $530 million and $2.40, respectively, maintained given present macroeconomic uncertainty
- Sustainability Investor Day to be held on September 20th will highlight Avient's sustainable solutions portfolio and growth opportunities
According to the company’s website press release on May 3, 2023, Avient Corporation (NYSE: AVNT), a leading provider of specialized and sustainable solutions, announced its first quarter 2023 results. First quarter GAAP and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) were $0.23 and $0.63, respectively.
The company noted that GAAP EPS includes $0.24 of special items (see Attachment 3) and $0.16 of intangible amortization expense (see Attachment 1). Special items for the first quarter were primarily related to costs associated with restructuring actions.
"Adjusted EPS for the first quarter exceeded our guidance as a result of favorable margins in both segments," said Robert M. Patterson, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Avient Corporation. "This was partially driven by composites and sustainable solutions which are proving to be resilient in a challenging macroeconomic environment and improving our mix of higher margin applications."
Mr. Patterson added, "Last year, we substantially expanded our composite offerings with the acquisition of Dyneema®, the world's strongest fiber™, and I'm pleased to report integration is progressing exceptionally well. Demand for defense, energy and telecom composite applications are helping to offset weakness in other markets around the world."
Second Quarter and Full Year 2023 Outlook
The company noted global demand conditions continue to be challenged by negative consumer sentiment, rising interest rates and inflation. "In Europe and the Americas, customers remain cautious and are managing inventory levels tightly while China's re-opening is progressing at a measured pace," said Jamie A. Beggs, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Avient Corporation.
"Accordingly, we expect second quarter sales and adjusted EPS of $845 million and $0.60, respectively, which reflects slightly higher margins than we projected at the beginning of the year," Ms. Beggs continued. "On a full year basis, we are maintaining our previous guidance of adjusted EBITDA and EPS of $530 million and $2.40. This factors in a more conservative growth rate in the second half of the year in light of the present macroeconomic environment."
Ms. Beggs added, "We are focused on executing our long-term strategy while we manage in the downturn. This includes increasing customer and employee engagement, optimizing our cost structure by capturing additional synergies from the Clariant acquisition, and minimizing working capital."
Upcoming Sustainability Investor Day
Commenting on the September 20th sustainability investor day, Mr. Patterson said, "We plan to host a live webcast to highlight current demand trends for sustainable solutions and how we help our customers reach their sustainability goals. The presentations will do a deep dive on the eight ways we approach sustainability, which include lightweighting, reduced energy use, sustainable infrastructure and human health & safety, to name a few."
Avient will share further information during its previously scheduled webcast scheduled for 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on May 3, 2023.
Webcast Details
Avient will host a webcast on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 8:00 a.m. EST. The webcast can be viewed live at avient.com/investors, or by clicking on the webcast link here. Conference call participants in the question and answer session should pre-register using the link at avient.com/investors, or here, to receive the dial-in numbers and a personal PIN, which are required to access the conference call. The question and answer session will follow the company's presentation and prepared remarks.
A recording of the webcast and the slide presentation will be available at avient.com/investors/events-presentations immediately following the conference call and will be accessible for one year.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The Company uses both GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) and non-GAAP financial measures. The non-GAAP financial measures include adjusted EPS, adjusted operating income, adjusted gross margin and adjusted EBITDA. Avient's chief operating decision maker uses these financial measures to monitor and evaluate the ongoing performance of the Company and each business segment and to allocate resources.
The Company does not provide reconciliations of forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures, such as adjusted EPS and adjusted EBITDA, to the most comparable GAAP financial measures on a forward-looking basis because the Company is unable to provide a meaningful or accurate calculation or estimation of reconciling items and the information is not available without unreasonable effort. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing and amount of certain items, such as, but not limited to, environmental remediation costs, mark-to-market adjustments associated with benefit plans, acquisition related costs, and other non-routine costs. Each of such adjustments has not yet occurred, are out of the Company's control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, the Company is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information.
To access Avient's news library online, please visit www.avient.com/news.
About Avient
Avient Corporation (NYSE: AVNT) provides specialized and sustainable material solutions that transform customer challenges into opportunities, bringing new products to life for a better world. Examples include:
- Dyneema®, the world's strongest fiber™, enables unmatched levels of performance and protection for end-use applications, including ballistic personal protection, marine and sustainable infrastructure and outdoor sports
- Unique technologies that improve the recyclability of products and enable recycled content to be incorporated, thus advancing a more circular economy
- Light-weighting solutions that replace heavier traditional materials like metal, glass and wood, which can improve fuel efficiency in all modes of transportation and reduce carbon footprint
- Sustainable infrastructure solutions that increase energy efficiency, renewable energy, natural resource conservation and fiber optic / 5G network accessibility
Avient is certified ACC Responsible Care®, a founding member of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste and certified Great Place to Work®. For more information, visit https://www.avient.com.
Forward-looking Statements
In this press release, statements that are not reported financial results or other historical information are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements give current expectations or forecasts of future events and are not guarantees of future performance. They are based on management's expectations that involve a number of business risks and uncertainties, any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. They use words such as "will," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial condition, performance and/or sales. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the credit markets that could adversely impact the availability of credit already arranged and the availability and cost of credit in the future; the effect on foreign operations of currency fluctuations, tariffs and other political, economic and regulatory risks; changes in laws and regulations regarding plastics in jurisdictions where we conduct business; fluctuations in raw material prices, quality and supply, and in energy prices and supply; production outages or material costs associated with scheduled or unscheduled maintenance programs; unanticipated developments that could occur with respect to contingencies such as litigation and environmental matters; our ability to achieve strategic objectives and successfully integrate acquisitions, including Avient Protective Materials; an inability to raise or sustain prices for products or services; our ability to pay regular quarterly cash dividends and the amounts and timing of any future dividends; information systems failures and cyberattacks; amounts for cash and non-cash charges related to restructuring plans that may differ from original estimates, including because of timing changes associated with the underlying actions; and other factors affecting our business beyond our control, including without limitation, changes in the general economy, changes in interest rates, changes in the rate of inflation and any recessionary conditions. The above list of factors is not exhaustive.
Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are advised to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our reports on Form 10-Q, 8-K and 10-K that we provide to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
