Trinseo, a global producer of plastics, latex, and synthetic rubber, reported a net loss of $128 million in the second quarter of 2020, compared to $28 million profit in the same quarter last year. This translates to diluted loss per share of $3.36, falling from $0.68 earnings a year earlier. Meanwhile, EBITDA fell from $88 million to negative $17 million over the same period. Net sales also decreased from $952 million to $570 million.
Both lower sales volume and lower pricing contributed to a net sales drop in the quarter. Trinseo’s Synthetic Rubber and Performance Plastics segments took the hardest hit due to declining sales in tire and automotive applications.
CEO Frank Bozich said cash generation and quarter-ending liquidity remained strong despite a historically low-demand environment. Bozich also noted that demand from the automotive, tire, graphical paper, and textile sector was negatively impacted by the COVID-19. However, he saw that the market had begun to improve by the end of June.
