Orion upgrades fourth quarter guidance

Houston, Texas – Carbon black major Orion Engineered Carbons SA has updated its previously announced guidance for earnings (adjusted EBITDA) for the fourth quarter of 2020.

The updated adjusted EBITDA guidance for the fourth quarter is now in the range of $64 million to $67 million, according to a 7 Jan Orion statement.

This marks a significant improvement on the forecast of $44 million to $55 million given in the company’s third quarter earnings presentation on 5 Nov, 2020. 

The upgrade “is predominantly attributable to our specialty carbon black business unit, driven by considerably higher volumes, which rose low-double digits sequentially,” said Corning Painter, Orion’s chief executive officer.. 

Orion, he said, also experienced “slightly less seasonality than anticipated” in its rubber carbon black business where volumes declined mid-single digits sequentially. 

These trends indicate that customers restocked their inventories during the quarter to better manage their supply chains, noted Painter, adding that it was difficult to forecast how demand will now develop. 

“However, our current order book indicates a strong January and we expect robust demand as the global economy recovers,” concluded the Orion CEO. 

Orion expects to provide further information regarding its fourth quarter and full year 2020 results after the market closes on February 18, 2021.