The Woodlands, Texas -Huntsman Corp said its first quarter sales were down $211m to $2.7b in compared with $2.9bn in the same period in 2012.
In the polyurethanes sector, sales were down 3% at $1.18bn in the quarter, and earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization were down 2% at $178m in the quarter compared with $181m in the first quarter of 2012.
Huntsman says that the fall in revenues in polyurethanes division was primarily due to an 8% fall in sales volumes which were partially offset by higher average selling prices. MDI (Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate) sales volumes decreased in Europe but this was partially offset by increased sales volumes in the Asia Pacific and the Americas. Netherlands, MDI site. Sales volumes in the PO/MTBE business decreased primarily due to the timing of shipments.
MDI average selling prices increased in all regions primarily in response to higher raw material costs, said Huntsman
PO/MTBE average selling prices decreased primarily due to less favourable market conditions. The decrease in adjusted EBITDA was primarily due to lower PO/MTBE earnings (first quarter 2012 benefited from industry supply outages) partially offset by higher MDI contribution margins.
