Luther C. Kissam - Albemarle Corp.
Management
Thanks, Scott. In January, we projected 2015 adjusted EBITDA of $875 million to $965 million, and adjusted EPS of $3.15 to $3.70, with an earnings cadence of 40% in the first half and 60% in the second half of the year. As you heard from Scott, in the first quarter of 2015, our overall business performance exceeded expectations, generating adjusted EPS of $0.81 per share, exclusive of the non-cash FX gain that Scott explained. A great start to our year. One month into the second quarter, we expect continued solid results from the three businesses, Bromine, Lithium and Performance Catalyst Solutions that make up Performance Chemicals. Similarly, Chemetall Surface Treatment continues to meet our expectations. Refining Solutions is mixed; Heavy Oil Upgrading or FCC catalysts should deliver volume growth in line with our January forecast. However, volumes and profitability in Clean Fuels Technologies will be more negatively impacted by the late change-outs, fewer first-fill opportunities and negative mix than initially projected. Combining all these factors, we are more confident in our 2015 outlook, and now see adjusted EBITDA in the range of $935 million to $1 billion, including the FX gain related to the U.S. dollar cash on hand at the completion of the Rockwood acquisition. On an earnings per share basis, this results in updated guidance of $3.65 to $4.05 per share. This improved outlook reflects the strong first quarter results, as well as our confidence in business forecasts for the remainder of the year and in our ability to overcome the additional headwinds we face from a strong U.S. dollar, low crude oil pricing, and weaker Clean Fuels Technologies performance. Due to the strong first quarter and to better-than-anticipated volumes in our oilfield completion fluids business in the Gulf of Mexico, our projected earnings cadence is now less tilted toward the second half of the year than initially forecasted. While we still expect higher operational earnings in the second half of 2015 compared to the first half, especially in Refining Solutions, the projected EPS split with the inclusion of the foreign exchange gain previously noted is now closer to 50%-50% than 40%-60%. As we look to the rest of 2015, we see the same macro issues that have impacted us year-to-date, strength of the U.S. dollar, sluggish global economy, and crude oil pricing continuing to be major factors. Just as in the first quarter, our focus will be on what we can control, and you can expect disciplined operation of our businesses and our assets, strong cash management and a continuing push to deliver on our integration and synergy targets. In closing, while we are only one quarter into the year, I believe our first quarter results underscore the earnings power of the new Albemarle and demonstrate our ability to deliver results regardless of the business environment. I am more excited than ever about the combination of Albemarle and Rockwood and our ability to deliver increasing shareholder value through our industry-leading businesses.