Eastman's outstanding performance

On May 9, Eastman announced that the company's first-quarter results were generally outstanding.

In the first quarter, the company's revenue rose 13% year over year, or 19% excluding the impact of the divestiture of its rubber additive and adhesive resin product lines. The sales prices of additives and functional materials and specialty materials rose by a total of 17%, making important progress in restoring interest margins and offsetting overall inflation. Sales of the company's specialty materials rose 10%, offsetting some of the unfavorable impact of a 6% decline in volume/product mix, driving sales up 3%. A 25% increase in selling prices for additives and functional materials and a 10% increase in volume/product mix contributed to a 32% increase in sales revenue. The sales price of chemical intermediates rose 33%, driving sales revenue up 32%.

In the first quarter, Eastman generated $17 million in cash from operating activities, down from $216 million in the first quarter of 2021. The decline was mainly due to lower net income and higher variable compensation expenses related to 2021 results.

Regarding the outlook for the full year 2022, Eastman Chairman and CEO Mark Costa said: "We are on track to continue our strong overall performance in the first quarter throughout the year. The recovery of spreads starting in the second half of the year offsets the impact of inflation so far in 2022, and is expected to maintain the spread advantage this year. All things considered, we expect 2022 adjusted EPS to be in the range of $9.5-$10 (median year-over-year). 10% growth), operating cash flow will be close to $1.6 billion."