UPDATE: Huntsman Q2 Earnings Top Estimates

Huntsman

reported a strong rise in its second-quarter earnings. The Salt Lake City, Utah-based company posted a quarterly profit of $119 million, or $0.48 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $47 million, or $0.19 per share. Excluding certain items, its adjusted earnings climbed to $0.59 from $0.39 per share. Its revenue rose 5.6% to $2.99 billion. However, analysts were projecting a profit of $0.48 per share on revenue of $2.9 billion. Revenue for Polyurethanes division rose to $1.31 billion from 1.25 billion, while Performance Products division revenue increased to $833 million from $777 million. Revenue from Advanced Materials segment also surged to $324 million from $321 million, while Textile Effects division revenue gained to $248 million from $216 million. Its adjusted EBITDA climbed 19% to $363 million from $304 million. Huntsman's gross margin widened to 16.9% from 15.9%. Peter R. Huntsman, our President and CEO, said, "We saw strong earnings in the second quarter as a result of increased demand for key products such as MDI and amines and higher selling prices for many of our products.” Huntsman shares fell 1.73% to close at $26.73 yesterday.