M. Steven Bender
Analyst · Edlain Rodriguez from UBS
Thank you, Albert, and good morning, everyone. I will begin with our consolidated financial results followed by a detailed review of our Olefins and Vinyls segment results. In this morning's press release, Westlake reported net income for the third quarter of 2014 of $168 million or $1.25 per diluted share. The record third quarter operating income was driven by strong margins due to higher sales prices and lower feedstock cost. Our net income reflected the impact of certain nonrecurring charges totaling approximately $38 million after tax and by several unplanned outages totaling approximately $7 million, which in aggregate, impacted earnings by $0.34 per diluted share. Net income for the third quarter of 2014 was impacted by the following 3 categories of items: First, the formation cost associated with the Westlake Chemical Partners and the sale of MLP units along with the acquisition related costs for our specialty PVC business, Vinnolit, of approximately $22 million after tax. Second, we had an elevated tax rate due to several nonrecurring tax items, which increased the tax provision by $16 million due principally to state tax rate changes. These rate changes did not impact cash taxes, and I expect the annual 2014 tax rate on ordinary income will be approximately 35.6%. And third, we experienced unplanned outages in the quarter in our Calvert City, Kentucky and Geismar, Louisiana facilities, resulting in manufacturing and other costs totaling approximately $7 million after tax impact. Therefore, the impact of these nonrecurring and unplanned outages was approximately $45 million after tax or $0.34 per diluted share. Additionally, these unplanned outages also resulted in lost sales and margin of approximately $5 million after tax. Westlake's net sales for the third quarter of $1.3 billion was $245 million higher than sales reported in third quarter 2013, driven by sales contributed by Vinnolit, which we acquired in July 2014, higher sales prices for our major olefins products and PVC resin, and higher sales volumes for PVC resin, caustic soda and ethylene. As a reminder, the 2 months of results contributed by Vinnolit since close is included in our third quarter Vinyls segment results. The increase in net sales was partially offset by lower sales volumes from styrene and ethylene coproducts. The lower ethylene coproduct sales volumes were mainly attributable to the feedstock conversion to ethane from propane that was completed in the second quarter 2014 at our Calvert City ethylene plant. Westlake's operating income for the third quarter of 2014 of $307 million increased by $40 million compared to the $267 million reported in the same period of 2013. Income from operations for the third quarter of 2014 benefited from improved olefins and vinyls integrated product margins predominantly due to higher sales prices for most of our major products and lower overall feedstock costs as compared to the prior year period. Income from operations for the third quarter 2014 was impacted by lost sales, lower production rates, manufacturing and other costs associated with our 2 unplanned outages as well as the nonrecurring Westlake Chemical Partners formation and the Vinnolit-related acquisition costs that I previously mentioned. Third quarter sales revenue of $1.3 billion increased by $255 million over sales in the second quarter 2014, driven by sales contributed by Vinnolit and by higher sales volumes for PVC resin, PVC pipe and polyethylene. Third quarter income from operations of $307 million was higher by $40 million than in the second quarter of 2014 due to higher integrated olefins and vinyls margins as ethane feedstock declined, benefiting our ethylene units included in our Calvert City ethylene plant that recently converted from propane to ethane feedstock. Additionally, income from operations for the third quarter of 2014 was impacted by the formation cost of our MLP and acquisition-related cost of Vinnolit as well as by the lost sales, lower production rates, unabsorbed fixed manufacturing costs and other costs associated with these unplanned outages. Sales revenue was $472 million higher in the first 9 months of 2014 compared to the first 9 months of 2013, driven by sales contributed by Vinnolit and our specialty PVC pipe business, which we acquired in July 2014 and May 2013, respectively. Higher sales prices and sales volumes for most of our major olefins products and higher PVC resin sales prices partially offset by lower ethylene coproducts and styrene sales volumes. Operating income in the first 9 months of 2014 was $126 million higher when compared to the same period of 2013 mainly attributable to improved olefins integrated product margins, primarily as a result of the increased ethylene production at our Lake Charles, Louisiana complex after the first quarter 2013 completion of the Petro 2 ethylene expansion and its conversion to 100% ethane feedstock capability. The increase in income from operations for the 9 months ended September 2014 was partially offset by the lost sales, lower production rates, unabsorbed fixed manufacturing costs and other costs associated with several unplanned and planned outages at our chemical complex within the third quarter at Calvert City and Geismar. Our utilization of the FIFO method of accounting resulted in an unfavorable impact of $2.5 million pretax or approximately $0.01 per share in the third quarter as compared to what earnings would have been if we had reported on the LIFO method. Please bear in mind this calculation is only an estimate and has not been audited. Let's move on to review the performance of our 2 segments, starting with the Olefins segment. The Olefin segment reported income from operations of $259 million on sales revenue of $703 million during the third quarter 2014 compared to operating income of $237 million on sales of $679 million in the same period of 2013. Olefins sales were higher by $24 million mainly due to higher polyethylene sales prices. The increase in operating income was mainly due to higher olefins integrated product margins primarily as a result of higher sales prices and lower ethane costs. Third quarter, Olefins operating income of $259 million increased by $21 million over the second quarter 2014. Olefins operating income benefited from higher integrated product margins as feedstock cost declined over the period. For the first 9 months of 2014, sales revenue of $2.1 billion for the Olefins segment increased by $239 million from the $1.9 billion in the first 9 months of 2013 while operating income of $770 million increased by $184 million in the same period. The increase in sales resulted from higher sales prices and sales volumes for most of our major olefins products while the increase in operating results were driven by improved olefins integrated margins that were largely a result of the increased ethylene production at our Lake Charles complex after the first quarter 2013 completion of the Petro 2 ethylene unit expansion and its conversion to 100% ethane feedstock capability. Now moving on to the Vinyls segment. Vinyls segment reported record operating income of $59 million in the third quarter of 2014 on sales revenue of $550 million as compared to operating income of $40 million on sales of $325 million in the same -- in the third quarter 2013. Vinyls sales revenue increased by $225 million, driven by sales contributed by Vinnolit, higher sales prices for PVC resin and higher sales volumes for PVC resin and caustic soda. The increase in net sales was partially offset by the lower ethylene coproducts volumes produced and sold as a result of the change to ethane feedstock from propane feedstock utilized at our Calvert City ethylene plant. The increase in operating income was mainly driven by higher vinyls integrated product margins in the third quarter of 2014 that were the result of ethane feedstock currently utilized at our Calvert City ethylene plant as compared to the propane feedstock utilized during the prior year period. The third quarter 2014 operating income was impacted by the unplanned outages resulting in maintenance and other costs at our Calvert City and Geismar facilities and the required valuation adjustment to reflect Vinnolit's inventory at fair value. The Vinyls segment operating income of $59 million in the third quarter of 2014 increased by $21 million compared to operating income of $38 million in the second quarter of 2014. The increase in operating income was the result of higher sales volumes for PVC resin, PVC pipe and higher integrated Vinyls margins that benefited from lower feedstock cost that are the result of the feedstock conversion of our Calvert City ethylene cracker. As I mentioned in our second quarter conference call, the required valuation adjustments to reflect Vinnolit inventory at fair value versus cost largely offset the contribution of operating income for the 2 months in which we owned Vinnolit. For the first 9 months of 2014, sales revenue of almost $1.2 billion for the Vinyls segment increased by $232 million from the $922 million in the first 9 months of 2013 while operating income of $76 million was lower by $60 million from the same period. The increase in sales was attributable to sales contributed by Vinnolit and our specialty PVC pipe business and higher PVC resin sales prices partially offset by lower ethylene coproducts sales volumes. The change in operating results was mostly driven by lost sales, lower production rates and the expensing of unabsorbed fixed manufacturing costs and other costs associated with several planned and unplanned outages at our chemical complexes. In addition, income from operations for the 9 months ended September 2014 was negatively impacted by lower caustic sales prices, the severe winter weather experienced in early 2014 and prior to the completion of our Calvert City ethylene plant feedstock conversion project, lower vinyls integrated product margins resulting from significantly higher propane costs. Next, let's turn our attention to the balance sheet and the statement of cash flow. Cash generated from operating activities in the first 9 months was $776 million, and we spent $311 million on capital expenditures. In addition, during the quarter, we raised $286 million from the initial public offering of Westlake Chemical Partners and paid $611 million net of cash required for the acquisition of Vinnolit. We have a strong liquidity position with a cash balance of $813 million and total debt was unchanged at $764 million at the end of September. We are reducing our guidance for 2014 capital expenditures to the range of $450 million to $500 million. Now I'd like to turn the call back over to Albert for some closing comments. Albert?