Materials firm Trinseo posted another sales decline in 2024, but registered a smaller financial loss than the year before.
Sales at Wayne, Pa.-based Trinseo were down 4 percent to just over $3.5 billion, as the firm lost $348 million for the year. In 2023, Trinseo lost $701 million.
Trinseo's Engineered Materials unit saw sales grow almost 2 percent to $1.18 billion in 2024. The firm's Polymer Solutions unit saw sales drop 12 percent to $1.38 billion.
In adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), Engineered Materials' results more than doubled to $102.5 million, while Polymer Solutions was up 70 percent to $85.8 million in that category. Adjusted EBITDA from Trinseo's Americas Styrenics LLC joint venture was down 75 percent to $15.4 million in 2024.
In a news release, CEO Frank Bozich said Trinseo's fourth-quarter results "were in line with expectations, reflecting seasonally lower volumes and extended year-end shutdowns." He added that falling raw material prices resulted in "negative timing impacts" in Polymer Solutions and in Americas Styrenics.
Trinseo has struggled in recent years, partly from challenging economics in styrenics markets, Most recently, the firm in December said it and partner Chevron Phillips Chemical would seek a buyer for AmSty, the joint venture they've operated since 2008. AmSty ranks as one of North America's largest PS resin makers. Trinseo had attempted to sell its stake in AmSty in 2022 but was unable to find an appropriate buyer.
In November, Trinseo sold its polycarbonate resin production assets to Indian Chemicals firm Deepak Nitrite Ltd., which will move that unit's equipment from Germany to India. The total value of that deal — including a technology license — is $52.5 million.
Trinseo in October combined the management of its engineered materials, plastics solutions and PS units. Those actions will eliminate an unspecified number of management and support jobs. That move is expected to save Trinseo $30 million per year by 2026. In 2023, Trinseo closed acrylic sheet plants in New Mexico, Denmark and Italy, as well as a styrene monomer plant in the Netherlands.
Looking to 2025, Bozich said Trinseo "is seeing seasonally higher volumes to begin the first quarter, but still expect Q1 volumes to be lower year-over-year due to continued weakness in automotive and building and construction end markets."
He added that while the firm continues to face macroeconomic challenges entering 2025, he's "encouraged by Trinseo's outlook as we begin the new year."
"The actions we have taken over the past two years have positioned us well for an eventual end market recovery," Bozich said, adding that Trinseo has "ample runway to continue investing in our growth businesses and leading circular technologies."