An American specialty addictive company, Eastman Chemical Company has announced a drop in its sales to $1,924 million in Q2 FY20 as compared to the sales of $2,363 million in the previous year. The Company stated that lower sales volume and low selling prices are the main reasons for the drop in sales.
The company’s sales volume decline during Q2 FY20 was most pronounced for products used in end markets negatively impacted by Covid-19, including transportation, building and construction, consumer durables, and textiles. This decrease was partially offset by higher sales volume for products used in resilient end-markets including consumables, personal care, and wellness, medical, and agriculture.
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for the quarter fell to $54 million (Q2 FY19: $371 million). Gross profit was down to $371 million ($589 million). Selling, general and administrative expenses slightly fell to $155 million ($165 million). Net earnings attributable to Eastman were $27 million ($258 million).
“Our sales revenue in the first half of the year was relatively solid, demonstrating the value of a diverse set of end markets and the benefit of our innovation-driven growth model. And, we moved swiftly to aggressively manage costs to offset meaningfully lower capacity utilization,” Mark Costa, board chair and CEO at Eastman Chemical Company said in a press release.
