Solutia Reports Third Quarter 2011 Results

On October 26, Solutia Inc. in St. Louis reported net sales for the third quarter 2011 of $519 million, up $8 million or 2 percent from the same period in 2010. Adjusting for divested businesses, sales were up $24 million or 5 percent, primarily due to favorable currency exchange rate fluctuations. Reported income from continuing operations attributable to Solutia was $75 million for the third quarter 2011, up $29 million from the same period in 2010. Both periods were impacted by certain events affecting comparability (detailed below), which resulted in a net after-tax gain of $20 million in 2011, and a net after-tax charge of $4 million in 2010. Excluding these items, Adjusted Earnings increased $5 million. Adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter of 2011 totaled $121 million, down $9 million from the same period in 2010. Adjusted EPS totaled $.45, up $.03 or 7 percent from the same period in 2010 despite the lower adjusted EBITDA primarily due to lower interest expense and a lower tax rate.

The Advanced Interlayers segment’s third quarter 2011 net sales totaled $227 million, an increase of $15 million or 7 percent from the same period in 2010. Adjusted EBITDA decreased $1 million to $47 million for the third quarter of 2011 compared to the prior year period. This earnings decrease was primarily due to higher raw material costs, partially offset by improved selling prices, improved product mix and lower annual incentive compensation expense.

"The third quarter reflects the strength of the Saflex interlayers business as growth in architectural and automotive sales, boosted by premium product offerings, more than offset the impact of a continued weak demand profile in the solar encapsulant market," said D. Michael Donnelly, executive vice president and chief operating officer. "We have announced the intention to explore new pricing structures for Saflex in 2012, which are designed to lessen the impact that volatility in raw material costs brings to our business and to our customers." The Performance Films segment’s third quarter 2011 net sales totaled $74 million, an increase of $1 million or 1 percent from the same period in 2010. Adjusted EBITDA decreased $1 million to $12 million for the third quarter of 2011 compared to the prior year period. This earnings decrease was primarily due to higher raw materials costs and increased selling costs, partially offset by improved selling prices.

"Steady results for Performance Films in the third quarter included strong performance of our premium window film brands, which continued to exceed growth expectations, offset by lower sales into the electronics market," said Donnelly. "The recently announced agreement to acquire Southwall Technologies Inc. positions us well to capitalize on the high-growth opportunities for advanced films solutions, including securing access to a key base material for V-KOOL premium aftermarket window films."