Albemarle Reports Third Consecutive Record Quarter

BATON ROUGE, La., Oct. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Third quarter 2011 highlights:

• Record quarterly earnings for the third consecutive quarter of $1.28 per share, up 25 percent over third quarter 2010 results.
• Net sales of $723 million for the quarter, up 24 percent from third quarter 2010.
• Record quarterly net sales and income for our Catalysts segment.
• EBITDA of $189 million and EBITDA margin of 26 percent for the quarter.  

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) reported third quarter 2011 earnings of $116.1 million, or $1.28 per share, compared to third quarter 2010 earnings of $93.7 million, or $1.02 per share.  The Company reported net sales of $723.0 million in the third quarter of 2011 compared to net sales of $585.0 million in the third quarter of 2010.

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Earnings for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 were $336.8 million, or $3.66 per share, compared to $238.7 million, or $2.59 per share, for the same period in 2010.  Excluding the $7.0 million ($4.6 million after tax, or 5 cents per share) charge for restructuring costs in the first quarter of 2010, earnings for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 were $243.3 million, or $2.64 per share.  Net sales for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 were $2.2 billion compared to $1.8 billion for the same period in 2010.  

Commenting on results, Luke Kissam, President and CEO, stated, "We're pleased to announce record earnings for the third consecutive quarter.  Catalysts' record performance and the continued strength of the Fine Chemistry business more than offset the expected volume softness seen in Polymer Solutions this quarter versus the first half of the year.  These earnings are a testament to our competitive cost position, execution of our pricing strategies and the innovation of our people."

Quarterly Segment Results

Catalysts generated net sales of $299.5 million in the third quarter of 2011, a 39 percent increase over net sales in the third quarter of 2010, due mainly to favorable pricing and volume impacts as well as favorable impacts from foreign currency.  Catalysts segment income was $101.9 million in the third quarter of 2011, up 48 percent over third quarter 2010 results of $68.9 million due primarily to the favorable pricing gains noted above, partly offset mainly by higher variable input costs versus the third quarter of 2010.  

Polymer Solutions delivered net sales of $243.9 million in the third quarter of 2011, a five percent increase over net sales in the third quarter of 2010, due to favorable pricing and foreign currency impacts partially offset by lower volumes.  Segment income for Polymer Solutions was $54.6 million in the third quarter of 2011, a seven percent decline from $58.5 million in the third quarter of 2010, due primarily to lower volumes and higher variable input costs, partly offset by favorable pricing.

Fine Chemistry net sales in the third quarter of 2011 were $179.5 million, a 30 percent increase over net sales in the third quarter of 2010, due mainly to favorable pricing and volume impacts.  Segment income for Fine Chemistry was $30.0 million for the third quarter of 2011, over 80 percent higher than third quarter 2010 results of $16.5 million.  This improvement in segment income was due primarily to the favorable pricing and volume performance noted above, partly offset by higher variable input costs and higher charges attributable to noncontrolling interests.

Corporate and Other

Corporate and other expense was $23.5 million for the third quarter of 2011.  The increase over the comparable period in 2010 was due mainly to higher personnel-related costs.  

Interest and financing expenses increased to $9.7 million for the third quarter of 2011 compared to $6.1 million for the third quarter of 2010, primarily due to higher average interest rates on outstanding borrowings during the 2011 period.

Our third quarter 2011 effective income tax rate was 25.1 percent versus 24.1 percent in the third quarter of 2010.  The full year 2011 effective tax rate is expected to be 23.7 percent.  Our effective tax rate continues to be influenced by the level and geographic mix of income and benefits from a favorable mix of income in lower tax jurisdictions.  

Cash Flow

Our cash flow from operations was approximately $285 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2011, and we had $481.3 million in cash and cash equivalents at September 30, 2011.  During the nine months ended September 30, 2011, cash on hand and cash provided by operations funded capital expenditures for plant, machinery and equipment of $127.1 million (versus $50.0 million in the same period of 2010) and dividends to shareholders of $43.1 million.  During the third quarter of 2011, we repurchased 3.0 million shares of our common stock as authorized under the terms of our stock repurchase plan.  Additionally, we made repayments of long-term debt of $105.1 million and pension and postretirement contributions of $57.6 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2011.  

On September 22, 2011, we amended and restated our previous $675.0 million credit facility.  Under the terms of the amended and restated five-year, revolving, unsecured credit facility, we have the ability to borrow $750.0 million, which may be increased by an additional $250.0 million.  Borrowings under the new credit facility bear interest at the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate plus a spread, currently 0.975%, that varies with our debt rating.  We had $120.0 million in outstanding borrowings on this facility at September 30, 2011.

Outlook

We are closely monitoring customer order patterns and other performance trends in our businesses and the markets which they serve in light of current uncertainties in the global economy.  While we expect the typical slower year end order patterns in some of our businesses, we believe our businesses are fundamentally strong and still expect that our second half 2011 results will be similar to the first half of the year.  We expect to end 2011 well positioned for another successful year in 2012.  

Earnings Call

The Company's performance for the third quarter ended September 30, 2011 will be discussed on a conference call at 11:00 AM Eastern Daylight time on October 25, 2011.  The call can be accessed by dialing 800-299-7928 (International Dial In # 617-614-3926), and entering conference ID 71549443.  The Company's earnings presentation and supporting material can be accessed through Albemarle's website under Investors at www.albemarle.com.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a leading global developer, manufacturer and marketer of highly-engineered specialty chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, automotive/transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop protection, food-safety and custom chemistry services.  Albemarle is committed to global sustainability and is continuing to advance its eco-practices and solutions in its three business segments, Polymer Solutions, Catalysts and Fine Chemistry, with Corporate Responsibility Magazine naming Albemarle among its prestigious "100 Best Corporate Citizens" list for 2011.  Albemarle employs approximately 4,000 people and serves customers in approximately 100 countries.  Albemarle regularly posts information to www.albemarle.com, including notification of events, news, financial performance, investor presentations and webcasts, Regulation G reconciliations, SEC filings and other information regarding the Company, its businesses and markets served.  

Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the information presented in this press release, including, without limitation, statements with respect to product development, improvements in productivity, market trends, price and mix changes, expected growth, outlook and all other information relating to matters that are not historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  There can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially.  Factors that could cause actual results to differ from expectations include, without limitation: changes in economic and business conditions; changes in financial and operating performance of our major customers and industries and markets served by us; the timing of orders received from customers; the gain or loss of significant customers; competition from other manufacturers; changes in the demand for our products; limitations or prohibitions on the manufacture and sale of our products; availability of raw materials; changes in the cost of raw materials and energy and in our ability to pass through increases; acquisitions and divestitures, and changes in performance of acquired companies; fluctuations in foreign currencies; changes in laws and government regulation of our operations or our products; the occurrence of claims or litigation; the occurrence of natural disasters; the inability to maintain current levels of product or premises liability insurance or the denial of such coverage; political unrest, including terrorism or hostilities; political instability affecting our manufacturing operations or joint ventures; changes in accounting standards; the inability to achieve results from our global manufacturing cost reduction initiatives as well as our ongoing continuous improvement and rationalization programs; changes in the jurisdictional mix of our earnings; changes in monetary policies or inflation or interest rates, which may impact our ability to raise capital or increase our cost of funds, the performance of our pension fund investments and our pension expense and funding obligations; volatility and substantial uncertainties in the debt and equity markets; technology or intellectual property infringement and other risks; decisions we may make in the future; and the other factors detailed from time to time in the reports we file with the SEC, including those described under "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our 2011 Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.  

Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Information

(a) The nine months ended September 30, 2010 included charges amounting to $7.0 million ($4.6 million after income taxes, or 5 cents per share) that related principally to reductions in force at our Bergheim, Germany site.  

Additional Information

It should be noted that earnings, earnings per share and effective income tax rates which exclude special items, as well as presentations of segment operating profit, segment income, EBITDA, EBITDA excluding special items, EBITDA margin and EBITDA margin excluding special items are financial measures that are not required by, or presented in accordance with, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or GAAP.  These measures are presented here to provide additional useful measurements to review our operations, provide transparency to investors and enable period-to-period comparability of financial performance.

A description of other non-GAAP financial measures that we use to evaluate our operations and financial performance, and reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and reported in accordance with GAAP, can be found in the Investors section of our website at www.albemarle.com, under "Non-GAAP Reconciliations" under "Financials."  Also, see attached for a supplemental reconciliation of our segment operating profit and segment income amounts to GAAP Operating profit and GAAP Net income attributable to Albemarle Corporation, respectively, as well as for a supplemental reconciliation of our GAAP Net income attributable to Albemarle Corporation to EBITDA and EBITDA excluding special items.

SOURCE Albemarle Corporation