Huntsman Corporation (HUN) has reported 3,100 percent jump in profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2016. The company has earned $128 million, or $0.53 a share in the quarter, compared with $4 million, or $0.02 a share for the same period last year. On the other hand, adjusted net income for the quarter stood at $72 million, or $0.30 a share compared with $124 million or $0.51 a share, a year ago. Revenue during the quarter went up marginally by 2.70 percent to $2,395 million from $2,332 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter expanded 87 basis points over the previous year period to 16.99 percent. Total expenses were 91.02 percent of quarterly revenues, down from 99.44 percent for the same period last year. This has led to an improvement of 842 basis points in operating margin to 8.98 percent.
Operating income for the quarter was $215 million, compared with $13 million in the previous year period.
However, the adjusted EBITDA for the quarter stood at $256 million compared with $240 million in the prior year period. At the same time, adjusted EBITDA margin improved 40 basis points in the quarter to 10.69 percent from 10.29 percent in the last year period.
Peter R. Huntsman, our president and chief executive officer, commented: "At the beginning of 2016, we announced our intent to generate more than $350 million of free cash flow. We delivered a record $686 million of free cash flow in 2016, including $117 million during the fourth quarter. We used this cash, together with proceeds from the sale of our European surfactants business, to repay $560 million in debt, significantly strengthening our balance sheet.
Operating cash flow improves significantlyHuntsman Corporation has generated cash of $1,088 million from operating activities during the year, up 89.22 percent or $513 million, when compared with the last year. The company has spent $202 million cash to meet investing activities during the year as against cash outgo of $600 million in the last year.
The company has spent $723 million cash to carry out financing activities during the year as against cash outgo of $562 million in the last year period.
Cash and cash equivalents stood at $425 million as on Dec. 31, 2016, up 57.99 percent or $156 million from $269 million on Dec. 31, 2015.
Debt comes down
Huntsman Corporation has recorded a decline in total debt over the last one year. It stood at $4,195 million as on Dec. 31, 2016, down 12.51 percent or $600 million from $4,795 million on Dec. 31, 2015. Total debt was 45.65 percent of total assets as on Dec. 31, 2016, compared with 48.83 percent on Dec. 31, 2015. Debt to equity ratio was at 2.86 as on Dec. 31, 2016, down from 2.94 as on Dec. 31, 2015. Interest coverage ratio improved to 4.30 for the quarter from 0.28 for the same period last year. Disclaimer: Please note that this is an auto-generated article. IRIS does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information. IRIS especially states that it has no financial liability whatsoever to any user on account of the use of information provided on its website. For queries contact: editor@irisindia.net
