Olin Q3 profit falls to $14.4 million on Freeport VCM plant issues

Olin Corporation (OLN) said on Oct. 29 that third-quarter 2026 net income fell to $14.4 million, or 13 cents per diluted share, from $42.8 million a year earlier. The company also forecast fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $80 million to $100 million.

Here's how the company did:

• Net income: $14.4 million, or 13 cents per diluted share, vs. $42.8 million, or 37 cents, a year earlier
• Revenue: $1,747.7 million vs. $1,713.2 million a year earlier
• Adjusted EBITDA: $191.4 million vs. $222.4 million a year earlier

Adjusted EBITDA of $191.4 million excluded depreciation and amortization of $114.4 million, acquisition-related costs of $13.7 million and restructuring charges of $1.7 million, the company said in a press release.

The company said it ended the quarter with a cash balance of $214.8 million and net debt of approximately $2.8 billion.

Segment results

Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls sales fell to $850.8 million from $924.0 million. The company said the decrease came from lower volumes tied to the Blue Water Alliance and lower VCM volumes, partly offset by higher pricing.

Segment earnings for the unit were $71.3 million, against $127.6 million a year earlier. The company said operating issues at the VCM plant at its Freeport, Texas facility led to higher costs and reduced profit from lost sales of $32.1 million.

Epoxy sales rose to $412.2 million from $349.6 million, and segment earnings were $0.6 million, compared with a segment loss of $32.2 million. The company said higher volumes and lower operating costs drove the improvement.

Winchester sales were $484.7 million, up from $439.6 million. Segment earnings were $33.8 million, compared with $19.3 million, which the company attributed to higher commercial ammunition pricing and volume, partly offset by higher commodity metal costs.

Fourth-quarter outlook

Chief Executive Officer Ken Lane said, “Our fourth-quarter outlook reflects normal seasonality, as well as elevated year-end customer destocking in Chemicals, higher feedstock costs, continued pressure from subsidized Asian exports and significant planned maintenance turnarounds.”

The company expects fourth-quarter 2026 adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $80 million to $100 million.

Huntsman merger

Olin and Huntsman Corporation agreed on June 16 to combine in an all-stock merger of equals. Shareholders of both companies approved the transaction, and the waiting period under the U.S. Hart-Scott-Rodino Act expired.

The company now expects the merger to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to customary closing conditions and remaining regulatory approvals. Third-quarter results included $13.7 million of acquisition-related costs tied to the deal.

The company said available liquidity was approximately $1.3 billion on Sept. 30, including undrawn revolving credit facility capacity. Net debt to adjusted EBITDA was 5.2 times.