Westlake's merchant ethylene sales volumes inferior in Q2
03 Aug '06
2 min read
Westlake Chemical Corporation reported net income of $67.2 million, or $1.03 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2006, an increase of 39 percent from the second quarter of 2005 net income of $48.5 million, or $0.74 per diluted share.
Income from operations was $106.9 million on net sales of $669.3 million for the second quarter of 2006. This compares favorably with second quarter 2005 income from operations of $82.8 million on net sales of $580.7 million.
The improvement in income from operations was primarily the result of increased selling prices, which outpaced higher feedstock costs.
The improvement in income from operations was partially offset by lower production volumes and higher maintenance expense due to a planned maintenance turnaround at the Company's facilities in Calvert City, Kentucky.
Second quarter results were positively impacted by the utilization of first-in, first-out (FIFO) inventory accounting as compared with utilizing the last-in, first-out (LIFO) method used by some companies in the industry as a result of rising feedstock costs.
Second quarter 2006 net income increased $15.9 million, or $0.24 per diluted share, from the $51.3 million net income, or $0.79 per diluted share, reported in the first quarter of 2006 primarily due to the $25.9 million ($16.3 million after tax) of debt retirement costs incurred in the first quarter of 2006.
Second quarter 2006 income from operations decreased $4.0 million from the income from operations of $110.9 million reported in the first quarter of 2006, while net sales increased by $50.5 million from the $618.8 million reported in the first quarter of 2006.
marketing@alchempro.com
