Materials maker AdvanSix Inc. expects challenging conditions for the nylon industry to continue in 2020.
Officials with Parsippany, N.J.-based AdvanSix made those comments in a Feb. 21 earnings release, before the effects of the global coronavirus outbreak were being felt.
AdvanSix, a leading global supplier of nylon 6 resins and other specialty chemicals, saw its 2019 sales total fall more than 14 percent to just under $1.3 billion. Annual profit fell almost 38 percent to $41.3 million.
In 2019, AdvanSix generated 27 percent of its sales from its nylon business, down from 28 percent in 2018. Based on sales, nylon was the second largest of the firm's four operating units in 2019.
"The end market environment as we exited 2019 remained challenging," President and CEO Erin Kane said in the release. "Despite the global slowdown in demand, we continue to benefit from our low-cost position and are focused on executing against our strategic priorities."
AdvanSix was formed in 2016 as a spinoff of several businesses formerly owned by Honeywell International Inc. On Wall Street, AdvanSix's per-share stock price was near $27 in early September, but had fallen to around $14.60 in late trading March 4.