Compounder Avient Corp. posted lower sales in the third quarter, even as it swung to a profit vs. a loss in the same period in 2022.
Sales for the quarter at Avon Lake, Ohio-based Avient were down 9 percent to $754 million vs. the same quarter in 2022. Third-quarter profit came in at $5.1 million after showing a loss of almost $11 million a year ago.
In a Nov. 2 news release, Chairman, President and CEO Robert Patterson said Avient's adjusted earnings per share for the quarter "was slightly ahead of" the firm's guidance. Officials added that during the third quarter, certain end markets continued to perform relatively well, such as energy, transportation and defense.
Looking ahead, Patterson said Avient "is not seeing a recovery in demand as we had initially modeled for the fourth quarter, but we are encouraged that the pace of destocking has slowed and appears to be nearing an end in many end markets including packaging, which is our largest."
Third-quarter sales at Avient's Compounds, Additives & Inks unit were down 14 percent to $486.5 million, with operating income down 6 percent to $64.5 million. The firm's Specialty Engineered Materials unit saw a third-quarter sales loss of 3.5 percent to $267.9 million, with operating income also down 3.5 percent to $30.3 million.
Through the first nine months of 2023, Avient's total sales were down almost 8 percent to $2.4 billion vs. the same period in 2022, with profit down 70 percent to $47.8 million.
Avient's per-share stock price was down 3 percent to $30.60 in early trading Nov. 2. The price began the year near $34 and peaked above $44 in late February.
Avient ranks as one of North America's largest producers of compounds, concentrates, composites and protective fibers. The firm posted sales of $3.4 billion in 2022.