Fourth-quarter revenues tumbled 22% to USD 1.65 (EUR 1.59 bn) at Huntsman (The Woodlands, Texas, USA; www.huntsman.com) as the Polyurethanes – its biggest segment in sales – and Performance Products segments battled destocking headwinds, low demand, and high energy costs. Adjusted EBITDA contracted 73% to USD 87 mn, and the reported net income swung to a loss of USD 91 mn from a profit of USD 597 mn during the same quarter last year.

Full-year revenues gained 5% to USD 8.023 bn and adjusted EBITDA fell 7% to USD 1.55 bn. Although net profit nosedived by 56% to USD 460 mn, the board approved a 12% increase to the quarterly dividend.

Related: Huntsman plans job cuts in high-wage countries

Huntsman announced the sale of non-plastics related dye segment Textile Effects business to Archroma, a unit of SK Capital Partners (New York, New York; www.skcapitalpartners.com) for USD 593 mn at the end of February 2023.

CEO Peter Huntsman said he expected de-stocking to end in the first part of 2023 and the business fundamentals to start modestly improving gradually during the year. “Visibility into the second half is still low. We are seeing some green shoots in areas like China, automotive, and aerospace, but construction demand globally is still under pressure,” he said. Huntsman plans to continue its cost cuts, returning cash to shareholders, and looking for “strategic” investment to improve core businesses.

Polyurethanes was the worst performing segment in terms of adjusted EBITDA, which dropped 83% to USD 37 mn due to lower sales volumes, lower MDI margins, the negative impact of weaker major international currencies against the US dollar, and lower equity earnings from a minority-owned joint venture in China. Lower fixed costs partially compensated for these negative factors. Revenues sank 23% to EUR 1.071 bn, which contributed the bulk of group sales.

Despite higher selling prices, turnover plunged by a quarter to USD 307 mn in the Performance segment due to lower sales volumes. Adjusted EBITDA weakened 42% to USD 61 mn.

The 12% revenue decrease in the Advanced Materials segment was attributed to lower sales volumes, which dwindled following the deselection of lower margin business and lower customer demand in industrial markets. Demand in the Aerospace market, however, improved. Adjusted EBITDA plummeted 24% to USD 41 mn.