Polyester maker Wellman business volume falls due to hurricanes
15 Feb '06
3 min read
The fourth quarter 2005 results were negatively affected by $16.6 million of the aforementioned charges relating to hurricane Katrina.
In addition, damage to various petrochemical facilities in the Gulf region resulted in dramatically increased raw material costs and reduced raw material availability.
Coupled with limited domestic polyester production, this created an opportunity for imports of both PET resin and fibers from the Far East, which surged during this quarter.
Thanks to the continued hard work of their employees, their Pearl River facility has been fully operational since the end of November and their PET resin expansion is expected to be completed by the middle of the second quarter of 2006."
Keith Phillips, Wellman's Chief Financial Officer, commented, "Their full year 2005 results were an improvement over full year 2004 results despite the disruption to their operations caused by hurricane Katrina.
Their Adjusted EBITDA of $123.4 million for the full year 2005 is a $25 million improvement, or a 26% increase over full year 2004.
Their Adjusted EBITDA for the second half of 2005 is $55.2 million, which is approximately $8.0 million higher than the comparable period in 2004."
As previously stated, the company believes Adjusted EBITDA is an important financial measurement in evaluating their business because it is commonly used to measure financial performance from a credit perspective and is an important factor in evaluating a business. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by adding Net Earnings (Loss), Income Tax Expense (Benefit), Interest Expense, Depreciation & Amortization, Other Items listed in the table above, and Financing Adjustments.
Wellman Inc manufactures and markets high-quality polyester products, including PermaClear and EcoClear brand PET packaging resins and Fortrel brand polyester fibers.
marketing@alchempro.com
