Eastman Chemical Q4 2022 Earnings Report
Key Takeaways
Eastman Chemical Company reported a challenging fourth quarter due to lower demand in key markets, customer inventory destocking, and limited benefit from lower raw material costs. Despite these challenges, the company demonstrated commercial excellence in pricing and made progress on its circular platform.
Primary demand slowed, destocking accelerated, and COVID-19 in China weakened demand.
Adjusted EPS was negatively impacted by foreign currency exchange rates and Winter Storm Elliott.
Commercial excellence was demonstrated by raising prices to offset ~$1.3 billion inflation.
Progress was made on the circular platform, remaining an exciting opportunity for Eastman.
Eastman Chemical
Eastman Chemical
Eastman Chemical Revenue by Segment
Eastman Chemical Revenue by Geographic Location
Forward Guidance
Eastman expects a challenging period for the global economy in 2023, characterized by inventory destocking, soft end-market demand, and uncertainty. The company anticipates aggressive inventory destocking to predominantly conclude in the first quarter, with modest volume recovery in the back half of the year. Eastman projects to grow adjusted 2023 EPS by between 5 and 15 percent, excluding the approximately $0.75 pension headwind, and improve operating cash flow to approximately $1.4 billion.
Positive Outlook
- Aggressive inventory destocking to predominantly conclude in the first quarter
- Expect modest volume recovery in the back half of the year
- Taking actions to reduce costs by more than $200 million in 2023, net of inflation
- Intend to maintain price discipline in specialty product lines to recover spreads
- Expect significant improvement in Fibers earnings to more sustainable levels
Challenges Ahead
- Challenging period for the global economy
- Significant inventory destocking
- Soft end-market demand
- Uncertainty about the full year
- Pension and other post-employment benefits costs are expected to increase by approximately $110 million
Revenue & Expenses
Visualization of income flow from segment revenue to net income