Titanium dioxide producer Venator (Stockton-on-Tees / UK; www.venatorcorp.com) has reported a net loss of USD 163m (EUR 145m) for 2018. This was due to considerably higher restructuring costs than in the previous year. In operational terms, the company fared well. Adjusted EBIDTA rose 10% to USD 436m, reports the Huntsman (The Woodlands, Texas / USA; www.huntsman.com) spin-off – see Plasteurope.com of 26.07.2017 – with sales up 2.5% at USD 2.26m.

In its main business segment of titanium dioxide, revenues rose 3.9% to USD 1.67 bn. Although the division, which is intending to gradually close down its production site in Pori / Finland – see Plasteurope.com of 20.09.2018 – recorded declining sales, it benefited from the higher sales prices for the white pigment, leading to a 7.8% increase in adjusted EBITDA to USD 417m. The Performance Additives division, by contrast, was unable to offset a decline in sales through price increases. As a result, segment sales fell 1% to USD 599m while adjusted EBITDA declined 14% to USD 62m. “Notwithstanding global economic uncertainty, longer-term industry fundamentals remain positive and we believe these actions will better position Venator for the future,” said president and CEO Simon Turner.