PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 13, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chemtura Corporation (NYSE:CHMT) (EuroNext:CHMT) today announced a restructuring plan to reduce manufacturing conversion costs by approximately $50 million, or about 10 percent annually, eliminate approximately $15 million of annual stranded costs arising from the previously announced sale of the Chemtura AgroSolutions business, and reduce selling, general and administrative costs ("SG&A") by at least $12 million annually. "Excess industry capacity in bromine and certain organometallics combined with continuing volatility in certain markets we serve has restricted our ability to achieve the targeted improvement in results," said Craig A. Rogerson, Chemtura's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "To meet our expected performance improvement in 2015, we are taking steps to address these challenges by accelerating initiatives to reduce our manufacturing costs and SG&A expenses, in addition to the elimination of stranded costs arising from the sale of our agrochemicals business." Despite the success of many of Chemtura's improvement initiatives, the Company faces continuing weak demand conditions in some of the market applications it serves, as well as excess capacity in bromine and certain organometallics. While the Company expects the bromine industry and electronics market to recover and grow to new heights, that growth may not occur in the coming year. "However, it is our responsibility to create the committed value in 2015," Rogerson said. "We believe the combination of our cost reduction actions and the investments we have made will enable us to deliver progressive performance improvement in 2015 without having to rely on recovery in demand from markets such as electronics or an improvement in our pricing levels." The Company expects to incur approximately $37 million in cash costs to implement the restructuring plan, recording the majority of this expense in the fourth quarter of 2014 and the first quarter of 2015. The cash expenditures associated with these actions will continue into the third quarter of 2015. The Company anticipates that the full run rate of the manufacturing and SG&A savings will be embedded in its performance by the third quarter of 2015, with annual savings of approximately $50 million for the calendar year of 2015. Of the $15 million of annual stranded costs, the Company anticipates having eliminated them by the second quarter of 2015 with approximately $3 million being incurred in the first quarter of 2015. Chemtura Corporation, with 2013 net sales of $2.2 billion,1 is a global manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals. Additional information concerning us is available at www.chemtura.com: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/ctr?d=10106020&l=7&a=www.chemtura.com&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chemtura.com%2F. 1 2013 net sales of $2.2 billion reflects discontinued operations treatment for the sale of Chemtura's Antioxidants and Consumer Products businesses. Forward-Looking Statements The cost estimates included in this press release include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21(e) of the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are identified by terms and phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "continue," "should," "could," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "will" and similar expressions and include references to assumptions and relate to our future prospects, developments and business strategies. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's expectations at the time such statements are made, speak only as of the dates they are made and are susceptible to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors. The Company's actual costs and cost reductions may differ materially from expected costs and cost reductions. Factors that could cause our actual costs, cost reductions or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:
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Source: Chemtura Corporation via Globenewswire