Pressure remained on results at Eastman (Kingsport, Tennessee, USA; www.eastman.com) in the first quarter, but the chemical company sees itself on the right track.

Compared to the final three months of 2022, CEO Mark Costa said he recognised “solid improvement” in the first quarter of 2023, attributing this to lower energy and raw material prices, cost-cutting measures, and a more rigid pricing policy. The company recently announced plans to save USD 200 mn this year.

Looking at the latest numbers versus the first quarter of 2022, there were losses for both sales and EBIT, the supplier said. Sales fell 11% to USD 2.41 bn (EUR 2.18 bn) due to lower volumes, divested businesses, and adverse currency effects, and operating income dropped nearly a quarter to USD 283 mn.

Meanwhile, sales in the Advanced Materials business area, home to copolyesters and PVB films, increased 0.8% to USD 742 mn as higher sales prices more than compensated for the decline in sales and negative currency effects, Eastman noted. In contrast, sales at the Additives & Functional Products segment fell 13% to USD 777 mn, and turnover slid 18% to USD 589 mn at Chemical Intermediates. Sales at the fibres business, on the other hand, grew 42% to USD 303 mn thanks to its own price increases.

Eastman said it expects to increase earnings per share by 5-15% this year. Not included in this forecast, however, are additional pension expenses, which should reduce earnings per share by around 75 cents, according to the group's estimates.