WILLIAMS TOWNSHIP, MI -- Despite a decrease in sales from a year ago, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer J. Donald Sheets said Dow Corning Corp.'s performance in the first half of 2015 was "remarkable," given "currency headwinds" it faces and "amidst continued oversupply and volatility in the silicones and polysilicon industries."
Dow Corning officials on Wednesday, July 29, announced second quarter sales of $1.42 billion and net income of $113 million.
Adjusted net income in the second quarter increased 27 percent to $127 million, according to a Dow Corning news release. Through the first half of the year, Dow Corning's adjusted net income, which excludes unusual items, increased 9 percent despite decreased sales affected largely by the strong U.S. dollar.
Related: Dow Chemical's Andrew N. Liveris calls Q2 2015 'outstanding'
Adjusted net income for 2015 and 2014 excluded the effect of a derivative contract and gains on long-term sales agreements, the release states.
"Dow Corning continues to advance on our strategy to increase profitability, especially in our silicones segment," Sheets said in a statement.
His statement continued, "Dow Corning's first half results continued to be impacted by fewer polysilicon shipments to long-term contract customers. These contracts have a degree of variability when customers take their product and recent order patterns have resulted in customer orders being concentrated late last year."
Related: Michigan-based Dow Corning: Timeline of a global success story
Here are some second quarter highlights from the report:
- Sales were $1.42 billion, 5 percent lower than last year's second quarter.
- Despite the headwinds caused by the strengthening U.S. dollar, Dow Corning experienced significant growth in its most profitable silicones segment product lines, especially for materials sold in electronics, packaging, high-performance building and health care applications.
- The strengthening U.S. dollar accounted for a nearly 6 percent revenue decrease in the silicones segment.
And here are year-to-date highlights outlined in the report:
- Sales were $2.79 billion, 8 percent lower than the first half of 2014; the decrease is largely driven by the strong U.S. dollar.
- Adjusted net income was $228 million, 9 percent higher than the first half of last year.
- Sales from Dow Corning's polysilicon segment have decreased for the first half of the year as the timing of customers taking product under long-term contracts resulted in fewer shipments.
Dow Corning is equally owned by The Dow Chemical Co. and Corning Inc. It serves 25,000 customers worldwide, with more than half of its annual sales made outside the United States. It does not have any publicly traded stock.
A global leader in silicones, silicon-based technology and innovation, Dow Corning offers more than 7,000 products and services via the company's Dow Corning and XIAMETER brands, according to the news release.
Get more Dow Corning news here.
Heather Jordan is a reporter for MLive/The Saginaw News/The Bay City Times. She can be reached at 989-450-2652 or hjordan@mlive.com. For more news, follow her on Twitter and Facebook.