The third quarter of 2024 was a good one for materials maker Avient Corp. as the firm posted gains in sales, profit and operating income.
"The Avient team delivered another strong quarter, ahead of our expectations, driven by organic revenue growth across all regions and most end markets," President and CEO Ashish Khandpur said in an Oct. 31 news release.
Khandpur added that Avient's sales growth in Latin America and Asia was driven by the packaging and consumer end markets, while U.S. and Canadian growth was connected to composite materials for the building and construction market. The firm's growth in Europe, the Middle East and Africa was tied to gains in packaging and continued strong demand for defense applications, he said.
Sales for the third quarter at Avon Lake, Ohio-based Avient were up 8 percent to $815.2 million vs. the same quarter in 2023 as profit soared to $38.7 million, up more than seven times vs. the year-ago period. For the first nine months of the year, the firm's sales were up almost 3 percent to almost $2.5 billion, with profit more than doubling to $122.2 million.
Third quarter sales at Avient's color, additives and inks unit were up more than 7 percent to $521.5 million, with operating income up 17 percent to $75.5 million. At the firm's specialty engineered materials unit, third-quarter sales were up 10 percent to $295 million, with operating income up 20 percent to $36.4 million.
Looking ahead, Chief Financial Officer Jamie Beggs said 2024 "has continued to play out as we expected," allowing Avient to increase its full-year guidance to adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, deprecision and amortization (EBITDA) of $525-$530 million and adjusted earnings per share of $2.63-2.67. She added the firm "anticipates continued year-over-year organic sales growth, with both segments growing earnings."
Avient is one of North America's largest producers of compounds, concentrates, composites and protective fibers. On Wall Street, the firm's per-share stock price was near $48 in early trading Oct. 31, up 17 percent to date in 2024.