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Exhibit 99.1

WESTLAKE CHEMICAL CORPORATION

Contact – (713) 960-9111

Investors – Steve Bender

Media – David R. Hansen

 

 

Westlake Chemical Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year Earnings for 2011

Full-Year 2011 Highlights

¡    Record full-year earnings, up 17% from 2010.

¡    Net sales increased 14% versus 2010.

¡    Generated cash from operating activities of $362 million.

¡    Ended 2011 with total cash balances of $922 million.

Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE: WLK) today reported net income for the three months ended December 31, 2011 of $26.4 million, or $0.40 per diluted share, compared to net income of $84.1 million, or $1.26 per diluted share, reported for the fourth quarter of 2010. Net sales for the three months ended December 31, 2011 of $859.2 million increased $63.8 million compared to net sales of $795.4 million in the same period of 2010, primarily due to higher sales volumes for polyethylene, styrene and PVC resin and higher sales prices for building products and caustic, partially offset by lower building products sales volume. Income from operations was $50.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to $137.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2010. Fourth quarter of 2011 income from operations was lower primarily as a result of higher feedstock costs, which were only partially offset by higher building products and caustic sales prices.

Net income for the fourth quarter of 2011 of $26.4 million, or $0.40 per diluted share, decreased $41.5 million from the $67.9 million of net income, or $1.01 per diluted share, reported for the third quarter of 2011. Net sales in the fourth quarter of 2011 of $859.2 million decreased $109.2 million from net sales of $968.4 million in the third quarter of 2011, primarily as a result of lower sales prices for most of the Company’s major products. Fourth quarter 2011 income from operations was $50.5 million as compared to $117.3 million reported for the third quarter of 2011, a decrease of $66.8 million. Operating income in the fourth quarter of 2011 decreased compared to the third quarter of 2011 primarily as a result of lower polyethylene, PVC resin and building products sales prices and higher feedstock costs.


Albert Chao, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “In 2011 we celebrated our 25th year in business and also achieved the highest earnings in Company history, as earnings grew by 17% driven largely by improved integrated vinyls margins. In addition, we announced expansion programs to increase both our chlorine and ethane-based ethylene capacity. We believe our integration strategy, coupled with our advantaged feedstock position due to increased U.S. shale gas production, will continue to improve our profitability in both our Olefins and Vinyls businesses.”

For the year ended December 31, 2011, Westlake had net income of $259.0 million, or $3.87 per diluted share, on net sales of $3,619.8 million. This represents an increase in net income of $37.6 million, or $0.53 per diluted share, from 2010 net income of $221.4 million, or $3.34 per diluted share, on net sales of $3,171.8 million in 2010. Net sales in 2011 increased $448.0 million over net sales in 2010 primarily due to higher sales prices for all our major products and higher sales volume for PVC resin, partially offset by lower building products sales volume. Income from operations was $446.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 as compared to $378.4 million for 2010, an increase of $68.4 million. Income from operations benefited primarily from improved caustic margins, higher PVC resin and building products sales prices and higher PVC resin sales volume as compared to 2010, partially offset by higher feedstock costs. The 2011 income from operations was negatively impacted by three separate events: an unscheduled outage at one of our ethylene units in Lake Charles, Louisiana, a scheduled major maintenance turnaround of our Calvert City facility and a fire at a third-party storage facility in Mont Belvieu, Texas. The 2010 results were negatively impacted by an unscheduled outage at one of our ethylene units in Lake Charles caused by severe weather.

EBITDA (earnings before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $84.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2011 decreased $87.5 million compared to $172.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2011 decreased $66.7 million compared to $151.6 million in the third quarter of 2011. A reconciliation of EBITDA to reported net income and to net cash provided by operating activities can be found in the financial schedules at the end of this press release.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $362.3 million in 2011. Capital expenditures in 2011 were $176.8 million. At December 31, 2011, we had cash balances of $922.2 million, including $96.3 million of restricted cash, and our long-term debt was $764.6 million. The restricted cash is designated for qualifying amounts spent for certain capital additions in Louisiana.

OLEFINS SEGMENT

Income from operations for the Olefins segment decreased by $78.6 million to $75.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 from $154.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. The decrease was primarily due to higher feedstock costs.

Income from operations for the fourth quarter of 2011 for the Olefins segment of $75.9 million decreased $29.5 million from the $105.4 million reported in the third quarter of 2011. The decrease was primarily due to lower integrated product margins, largely as a result of lower polyethylene sales prices and higher feedstock costs.


Income from operations was $459.3 million in 2011 compared to $460.0 million in 2010 as higher polyethylene and styrene sales prices were mostly offset by higher feedstock costs as compared to 2010. In addition, income from operations for 2011 was negatively impacted by the unscheduled outage at one of our ethylene units in Lake Charles and the fire at a third-party storage facility at Mont Belvieu. Results for 2010 were negatively impacted by the unscheduled outage at one of our ethylene units in Lake Charles caused by severe weather.

VINYLS SEGMENT

The Vinyls segment reported a loss from operations of $19.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to a loss from operations of $12.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, an unfavorable change of $7.2 million. The decrease in operating income was primarily the result of a decrease in PVC resin margins as higher feedstock costs outpaced sales price increases.

The Vinyls segment reported a loss from operations of $19.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 as compared to income from operations of $16.1 million in the third quarter of 2011. The decrease in operating income in the fourth quarter was the result of higher propane cracking costs at our Calvert City ethylene unit, a turnaround at our Geismar facility, a decrease in PVC resin and building products sales prices and a decrease in building products sales volumes.

The Vinyls segment reported income from operations of $4.0 million in 2011 as compared to a loss from operations of $62.4 million in 2010. The improvement in income from operations was primarily attributable to improved caustic, PVC resin and building products margins and higher PVC resin sales volume as compared to 2010. PVC resin sales volume benefited from a stronger export market in 2011. The improvement in operating results was partially offset by the negative impact of the turnaround at our Calvert City facility. Overall, Vinyls margins remained under pressure in 2011 due to the continued weakness in the U.S. construction markets and budgetary constraints in municipal spending.

The statements in this release relating to matters that are not historical facts, including the timing and results of expansion and construction projects and the competitive position of North American olefins and vinyls producers, including Westlake, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially, based on factors including, but not limited to: general economic and business conditions; the cyclical nature of the chemical industry; availability, cost and volatility of raw materials and utilities, including natural gas from shale production; uncertainties associated with the United States and worldwide economies, including those due to global economic and financial conditions; delays and cost overruns associated with expansion and construction projects; governmental regulatory actions, including environmental regulation; political unrest; industry production capacity and operating rates; the supply/demand balance for Westlake’s products; competitive products and pricing pressures; access to capital markets; technological developments; the effect and results of litigation and settlements of litigation; operating interruptions; and other risk factors. For more detailed information about the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, please refer to Westlake’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, which was filed with the SEC in February 2011.

 


In this release, Westlake refers to a non-GAAP financial measure, EBITDA. EBITDA is calculated as net income before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization. The body of accounting principles generally accepted in the United States is commonly referred to as “GAAP.” For this purpose a non-GAAP financial measure is generally defined by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as one that purports to measure historical and future financial performance, financial position or cash flows, but excludes or includes amounts that would not be so adjusted in the most comparable GAAP measures. We have included EBITDA in this release because our management considers it an important supplemental measure of our performance and believes that it is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in our industry, some of which present EBITDA when reporting their results. We regularly evaluate our performance as compared to other companies in our industry that have different financing and capital structures and/or tax rates by using EBITDA. EBITDA allows for meaningful company-to-company performance comparisons by adjusting for factors such as interest expense, depreciation and amortization and taxes, which often vary from company to company. In addition, we utilize EBITDA in evaluating acquisition targets. Management also believes that EBITDA is a useful tool for measuring our ability to meet our future debt service, capital expenditures and working capital requirements, and EBITDA is commonly used by us and our investors to measure our ability to service indebtedness. EBITDA is not a substitute for the GAAP measures of earnings or of cash flow and is not necessarily a measure of our ability to fund our cash needs. In addition, it should be noted that companies calculate EBITDA differently and, therefore, EBITDA as presented in this release may not be comparable to EBITDA reported by other companies. EBITDA has material limitations as a performance measure because it excludes (1) interest expense, which is a necessary element of our costs and ability to generate revenues because we have borrowed money to finance our operations, (2) depreciation, which is a necessary element of our costs and ability to generate revenues because we use capital assets and (3) income taxes, which is a necessary element of our operations. We compensate for these limitations by relying primarily on our GAAP results and using EBITDA only supplementally. A table included in the financial schedules at the end of this release reconciles EBITDA to net income and to cash flow from operating activities.

Westlake Chemical Corporation Conference Call Information:

A conference call to discuss Westlake Chemical Corporation’s fourth quarter and full year 2011 results will be held Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. EST (10:00 a.m. CST). To access the conference call, dial (866) 510-0712, or (617) 597-5380 for international callers, approximately 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time and reference passcode 87965657.

A replay of the conference call will be available beginning two hours after its conclusion until 1:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, February 28, 2012. To hear a replay, dial (888) 286-8010, or (617) 801-6888 for international callers. The replay passcode is 75680375.

The conference call will also be available via webcast at http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=180248&p=IROL-EventDetails&EventID=4717022 and the earnings release can be obtained via the company’s Web page at http://www.westlake.com/fw/main/IR-Home-Page-123.html.


WESTLAKE CHEMICAL CORPORATION

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)

 

     Three Months Ended
December 31,
    Twelve Months Ended
December 31,
 
     2011     2010     2011     2010  
     (In thousands of dollars, except per share data)  

Net sales

   $ 859,175      $ 795,387      $ 3,619,848      $ 3,171,787   

Cost of sales

     781,915        631,263        3,060,842        2,689,104   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Gross profit

     77,260        164,124        559,006        482,683   

Selling, general and administrative expenses

     26,801        27,072        112,210        104,319   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

     50,459        137,052        446,796        378,364   

Interest expense

     (12,543     (11,301     (50,992     (39,875

Other income, net

     1,332        2,935        5,628        4,471   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before income taxes

     39,248        128,686        401,432        342,960   

Provision for income taxes

     12,805        44,613        142,466        121,567   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

   $ 26,443      $ 84,073      $ 258,966      $ 221,393   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Earnings per share:

        

Basic

   $ 0.40      $ 1.27      $ 3.89      $ 3.35   

Diluted

   $ 0.40      $ 1.26      $ 3.87      $ 3.34   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 


WESTLAKE CHEMICAL CORPORATION

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Unaudited)

 

     December 31,
2011
     December 31,
2010
 
     (In thousands of dollars)  

ASSETS

     

Current assets

     

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 825,901       $ 630,299   

Accounts receivable, net

     407,372         362,863   

Inventories

     490,777         450,028   

Other current assets

     32,106         32,770   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total current assets

     1,756,156         1,475,960   

Property, plant and equipment, net

     1,232,066         1,170,334   

Restricted cash

     96,283         150,288   

Other assets, net

     182,316         157,562   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total assets

   $ 3,266,821       $ 2,954,144   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

     

Current liabilities (accounts payable and accrued liabilities)

   $ 364,595       $ 323,578   

Long-term debt

     764,563         764,482   

Other liabilities

     381,351         361,014   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     1,510,509         1,449,074   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Stockholders' equity

     1,756,312         1,505,070   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity

   $ 3,266,821       $ 2,954,144   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 


WESTLAKE CHEMICAL CORPORATION

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Unaudited)

 

     Twelve Months Ended
December 31,
 
     2011     2010  
     (In thousands of dollars)  

Cash flows from operating activities

    

Net income

   $ 258,966      $ 221,393   

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

    

Depreciation and amortization

     131,397        128,732   

Deferred income taxes

     14,114        14,153   

Other balance sheet changes

     (42,181     (80,994
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

     362,296        283,284   

Cash flows from investing activities

    

Additions to equity investments

     -        (10,177

Additions to property, plant and equipment

     (176,843     (81,269

Proceeds from disposition of assets

     2,880        914   

Proceeds from repayment of loan to affiliate

     1,192        763   

Purchase of securities and other investments

     (30,265     -   

Settlements of derivative instruments

     251        9,494   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used for investing activities

     (202,785     (80,275

Cash flows from financing activities

    

Capitalized debt issuance costs

     (2,697     (3,331

Dividends paid

     (18,265     (16,014

Proceeds from exercise of stock options

     5,344        3,745   

Repurchase of common stock for treasury

     (2,518     -   

Utilization of restricted cash

     54,227        197,298   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by financing activities

     36,091        181,698   

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

     195,602        384,707   

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year

     630,299        245,592   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year

   $ 825,901      $ 630,299   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 


WESTLAKE CHEMICAL CORPORATION

SEGMENT INFORMATION

(Unaudited)

 

     Three Months Ended
December 31,
    Twelve Months Ended
December 31,
 
     2011     2010     2011     2010  
     (In thousands of dollars)  

Net external sales

        

Olefins

   $ 621,773      $ 563,704      $ 2,567,842      $ 2,261,212   

Vinyls

     237,402        231,683        1,052,006        910,575   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
   $ 859,175      $ 795,387      $ 3,619,848      $ 3,171,787   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income (loss) from operations

        

Olefins

   $ 75,890      $ 154,521      $ 459,266      $ 460,027   

Vinyls

     (19,553     (12,380     4,012        (62,429

Corporate and other

     (5,878     (5,089     (16,482     (19,234
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
   $ 50,459      $ 137,052      $ 446,796      $ 378,364   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization

        

Olefins

   $ 21,917      $ 21,723      $ 86,915      $ 86,086   

Vinyls

     11,095        10,540        43,877        42,062   

Corporate and other

     141        147        605        584   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
   $ 33,153      $ 32,410      $ 131,397      $ 128,732   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Other income, net

        

Olefins

   $ 780      $ 333      $ 2,813      $ 440   

Vinyls

     15        95        194        399   

Corporate and other

     537        2,507        2,621        3,632   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
   $ 1,332      $ 2,935      $ 5,628      $ 4,471   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 


WESTLAKE CHEMICAL CORPORATION

RECONCILIATION OF EBITDA TO NET INCOME AND TO NET CASH

PROVIDED BY OPERATING ACTIVITIES

(Unaudited)

 

      Three  Months
Ended

September 30,
     Three Months Ended
December 31,
    Twelve Months Ended
December 31,
 
     2011      2011     2010     2011      2010  
     (In thousands of dollars)  

EBITDA

   $ 151,649       $ 84,944      $ 172,397      $ 583,821       $ 511,567   

Less:

            

Provision for income taxes

     38,131         12,805        44,613        142,466         121,567   

Interest expense

     12,727         12,543        11,301        50,992         39,875   

Depreciation and amortization

     32,861         33,153        32,410        131,397         128,732   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net income

     67,930         26,443        84,073        258,966         221,393   

Changes in operating assets and liabilities

     47,632         96,821        (16,631     89,216         47,738   

Deferred income taxes

     3,486         (5,321     861        14,114         14,153   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

   $ 119,048       $ 117,943      $ 68,303      $ 362,296       $ 283,284   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 


WESTLAKE CHEMICAL CORPORATION

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

Product Sales Price and Volume Variance by Operating Segments

 

     Fourth Quarter 2011  vs.
Fourth Quarter 2010
          Fourth Quarter 2011  vs.
Third Quarter 2011
 
     Average
Sales Price
     Volume           Average
Sales Price
     Volume  

Olefins

     +5.0%           +5.3%              -9.6%           -1.0%     

Vinyls

     +9.5%           -7.0%              -14.2%           +1.2%     

Company

     +6.3%           +1.7%              -10.9%           -0.4%     

Average Quarterly Industry Prices (1)

 

   

Quarter Ended

   

December 31,

2010

 

March 31,

2011

 

June 30,

2011

  

September 30,

2011

  

December 31,

2011

           

Ethane (cents/lb)

  21.4   22.1   26.2    26.3    28.8

Propane (cents/lb)

  29.8   32.4   35.4    36.4    34.1

Ethylene (cents/lb) (2)

  47.3   49.3   57.5    55.6    54.6

Polyethylene (cents/lb) (3)

  92.7   96.7   103.7    96.0    92.7

Styrene (cents/lb) (4)

  63.3   74.0   76.3    73.3    64.0

Caustic ($/short ton) (5)

  451.7   470.0   536.7    570.0    613.3

Chlorine ($/short ton) (6)

  335.0   315.0   351.7    348.3    305.8

PVC (cents/lb) (7)

  67.7   69.5   77.8    78.2    74.8

 

 

(1)

Industry pricing data was obtained through IHS Chemical. We have not independently verified the data.

 

(2)

Represents average North American contract prices of ethylene over the period as reported by IHS Chemical.

 

(3)

Represents average North American contract prices of polyethylene low density film over the period as reported by IHS Chemical.

 

(4)

Represents average North American contract prices of styrene over the period as reported by IHS Chemical.

 

(5)

Represents average North American acquisition prices of caustic soda (diaphragm grade) over the period as reported by IHS Chemical.

 

(6)

Represents average North American contract prices of chlorine (into chemicals) over the period as reported by IHS Chemical.

 

(7)

Represents average North American contract prices of PVC over the period as reported by IHS Chemical.