Orion S.A. Reports Second Quarter 2025 Financial Results

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC), a specialty chemical company, today announced financial results for the period ended June 30, 2025 as follows:

Second Quarter 2025 Highlights

• Net sales of $466.4 million, down $10.6 million year over year

• Net income of $9.0 million, down $11.5 million year over year

• Diluted EPS of $0.16, down $0.19 year over year

• Adjusted EBITDA¹ of $68.8 million, down 8% year over year

• Adjusted Diluted EPS¹ of $0.32, down $0.09 year over year 

Six Months 2025 Highlights

• Net sales of $944.1 million, down $35.8 million year over year

• Net income of $18.1 million, down $29.1 million year over year

• Diluted EPS of $0.32, down $0.48 year over year

• Adjusted EBITDA¹ of $135.0 million, down 16% year over year

• Adjusted Diluted EPS¹ of $0.55, down $0.38 year over year 

Other Highlights

• Improved plant performance sequentially

• Announced plan to discontinue, in aggregate, production of three to five carbon black lines at multiple facilities

• Maintaining Free Cash Flow expectations for 2025 

"Our second quarter results were in line with our expectations, helped by an improved sequential plant performance," stated Corning Painter, Chief Executive Officer.

"We overcame persistent demand headwinds related to elevated tire imports, which have continued to pressure key tire customers, along with broader customer hesitancy reflecting considerable macro uncertainty," continued Painter. "Our revised 2025 Adjusted EBITDA guidance range assumes no meaningful recovery in our industrial end markets over the balance of 2025."

"We are resolutely focused on levers to improve cash flow," stated Orion's Chief Financial Officer Jeff Glajch. "Even with the persistent macro headwinds, we expect to reach our previously conveyed goal of more than $50 million of free cash flow for 2025."

Second Quarter 2025 Overview:

Volume increased by 6.9 kmt, year over year, due to higher volume in the Rubber Carbon Black segment. Net sales decreased by $10.6 million, or 2.2%, year over year, driven primarily by lower oil prices. This was partially offset by higher Rubber Carbon Black segment volume, favorable foreign exchange rate impact and higher cogeneration. Gross profit decreased by $11.4 million, or 10.4%, year over year, to $98.4 million. The decrease was driven primarily by lower volume in the Specialty Carbon Black segment, unfavorable timing from the pass-through of raw material costs and unfavorable customer and regional mix in the Rubber Carbon Black segment.

Income from operations decreased by $9.5 million, or 22.8%, year over year, to $32.1 million. The decrease was driven primarily by softer demand in the Specialty Carbon Black segment and unfavorable timing from the pass-through of raw material costs. Net income decreased by $11.5 million, or 56.1%, year over year to $9.0 million. Adjusted EBITDA decreased by $6.3 million, or 8.4%, year over year, to $68.8 million. The decrease was driven by lower volume in the Specialty Carbon Black segment, unfavorable price and unfavorable timing from the pass-through of raw material costs, partially offset by higher cogeneration.

Quarterly Business Segment Results

Specialty Carbon Black segment volume declined by 4.9 kmt, or 7.8%, year over year, primarily due to lower demand in the Europe, Middle East and Africa, as well as the Americas region. Net sales decreased by $7.4 million, or 4.5%, year over year, to $158.1 million, primarily due to lower volume and lower oil prices. Adjusted EBITDA declined by $8.1 million, or 28.9%, year over year, to $19.9 million. The decrease was primarily due to lower volume and unfavorable price and product mix.

Rubber Carbon Black segment volume increased by 11.8 kmt, or 6.9%, year over year, due to higher demand in the Asia Pacific and Americas regions. Net sales declined by $3.2 million, or 1.0%, year over year, to $308.3 million, primarily due to the pass-through of lower oil prices, partially offset by higher volume. Adjusted EBITDA increased by $1.8 million, or 3.8%, year over year, to $48.9 million, driven primarily by lower fixed costs and higher cogeneration, partly offset by unfavorable timing from the pass-through of raw material costs.

Six Months 2025 Highlights

Volume increased by 10.2 kmt to 491.7 kmt compared to the six months ended June 30, 2024, primarily due to higher Rubber Carbon Black segment volume, partially offset by lower Specialty Carbon Black segment volume. Net sales decreased by $35.8 million, or 3.7%, in the six months ended June 30, 2025 to $944.1 million year over year, primarily driven by the pass-through of lower oil prices, and lower Specialty Carbon Black segment volume. Those were partially offset by higher volume in the Rubber Carbon Black segment and higher cogeneration. Gross profit decreased by $35.5 million, or 15.3%, year over year to $196.5 million. The decrease was primarily driven by unfavorable impact from the pass-through of raw material costs, partially offset by higher cogeneration.

Income from operations decreased by $31.1 million, or 32.9%, year over year to $63.3 million. The decrease was driven primarily by softer demand in the Specialty Carbon Black segment and unfavorable timing from the pass-through of raw material costs. Net income decreased by $29.1 million, or 61.7%, year over year to $18.1 million. Adjusted EBITDA decreased by $25.4 million, or 15.8%, from $160.4 million in the six months ended June 30, 2024 to $135.0 million in the six months ended June 30, 2025. The decrease was primarily due to lower volume in the Specialty Carbon Black segment, unfavorable timing from the pass-through of raw material costs and unfavorable customer and regional mix in the Rubber Carbon Black segment. Those were partially offset by higher cogeneration.

Six Months Business Segment Results

Volumes decreased by 6.3 kmt, or 5.0%, year over year to 119.9 kmt for the six months ended June 30, 2025, primarily due to lower demand in the Europe, Middle East and Africa, as well as the Americas region. Net sales decreased by $17.6 million, or 5.2%, year over year to $318.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025, primarily due to lower volume and lower oil prices. Adjusted EBITDA decreased by $10.6 million, or 19.0%, year over year to $45.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025. The decrease was primarily due to lower volume and unfavorable price and product mix.

Volume increased by 16.5 kmt, or 4.6%, year over year to 371.8 kmt, for the six months ended June 30, 2025, primarily due to higher demand in the Asia Pacific and Americas regions. Net sales decreased by $18.2 million, or 2.8%, year over year to $625.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025, primarily due to the pass-through of lower oil prices, partially offset by higher volume. Adjusted EBITDA decreased by $14.8 million, or 14.2%, to $89.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025, driven primarily by unfavorable timing from the pass-through of raw material costs and unfavorable customer and regional mix.

Outlook

"We are narrowing our guidance ranges to factor in a surge of tire imports into North America during the second quarter, as well as revised macro assumptions for the second half of 2025. Our revised Adjusted EBITDA range is $270 million – $290 million and the corresponding Adjusted EPS range is $1.20 – $1.45. We are again reaffirming our prior free cash flow guidance range at $40 million – $70 million." Mr. Painter concluded.

As previously announced, Orion will hold a conference call tomorrow, Thursday, August 7, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. (EDT). The dial-in details for the live conference call are as follows:

A replay of the conference call may be accessed by phone at the following numbers to Thursday, August 21, 2025:

Additionally, an archived webcast of the conference call will be available on the investor section of the company's website at www.orioncarbons.com.

To learn more about Orion S.A., visit the company's investor website at www.orioncarbons.com, where we regularly post information including notification of events, news, financial performance, investor presentations and webcasts, non-GAAP reconciliations, SEC filings and other information regarding our company, its businesses and the markets it serves.

About Orion S.A.

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) is a leading global supplier of carbon black, a solid form of carbon produced as powder or pellets. The material is made to customers' exacting specifications for tires, coatings, ink, batteries, plastics and numerous other specialty, high-performance applications. Carbon black is used to tint, colorize, provide reinforcement, conduct electricity, increase durability, and add UV protection. Orion has innovation centers on three continents and produces carbon black at 14 plants worldwide, excluding the under-construction facility at La Porte, Texas, offering the most diverse variety of production processes in the industry. The company's corporate lineage goes back more than 160 years to Germany, where it operates the world's longest-running carbon black plant. Orion is a leading innovator, applying a deep understanding of customers' needs to deliver sustainable solutions. For more information, please visit www.orioncarbons.com.

Cautionary Statement for the Purposes of the "Safe Harbor" Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This document contains and refers to certain forward-looking statements with respect to our financial condition, results of operations and business, including those in the "Outlook " section above. These statements constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, among others, statements concerning our potential exposure to market risks, macroeconomic conditions including tariffs, expected plant uptime, market conditions, anticipated customer demand, expected impacts of operational improvements and foreign exchange, expectations regarding capital expenditures, working capital and free cash flow, our outlook for 2025, and other statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions and statements that are not limited to statements of historical or present facts or conditions. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as "anticipate," "assume," "assure," "believe," "confident," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "objectives," "outlook," "guidance," "probably," "project," "will," "seek," "target," "to be," and other words of similar meaning.

All these forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions that, although believed to be reasonable, are inherently uncertain. Therefore, undue reliance should not be placed upon any forward-looking statements. There are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, among others: negative or uncertain worldwide economic conditions and developments; the operational risks inherent in chemicals manufacturing, including but not limited to disruptions due to technical difficulties, severe weather conditions or natural disasters; unanticipated impacts of our plans and strategies, including our plans to discontinue production at certain facilities; our dependence on major customers and suppliers; further changes and uncertainty in the geopolitical environment or government policy, including related to tariffs, counter-tariffs and other trade barriers, and the risk that the impacts thereof differ from our expectations; our ability to compete in the industries and markets in which we operate; our ability to successfully develop new products and technologies; our ability to effectively implement our business strategies; the volatility of costs, quality and availability of raw materials and energy; our ability to realize benefits from investments, joint ventures, acquisitions or alliances; our ability to realize benefits from planned plant capacity expansions and planned and current site development projects; any information technology systems failures, network disruptions and breaches of data security; our exposure to political or country risks inherent in doing business globally; rapidly changing geopolitical environment, conflicts, growing tension between U.S. and other countries, and/or any other escalations may impact energy costs, raw material availability or other economic disruptions; our ability to comply with complex environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, and current and any possible future investigations and enforcement actions by governmental, supranational agencies or other organizations; environmental, social and governance matters, including regulations requiring a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions or that impose additional taxes or fees on emissions as well as increased awareness and adverse publicity about potential impacts on climate change by us; developments in regulation of carbon black as a nano-scale material; our operations as a company in the chemical sector, including the related risks of leaks, fires and toxic releases as well as other accidents; any changes in European Union regulations or similar international regulations on chemical carbon that will affect our ability to market and sell our products; any market or regulatory changes that may affect our ability to sell or otherwise benefit from co-generated energy; any litigation or legal proceedings, including product liability, environmental or asbestos related claims; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights and know-how; risks associated with our financial leverage; restrictive effects of the covenants in our debt instruments; any deterioration in our financial position or downgrade of our ratings by credit rating agencies; any fluctuations in foreign currency exchange or interest rates; the availability and efficiency of hedging; any potential impairments or write-offs of certain assets; any required increases in our pension fund or retirement-related contributions; the adequacy of our insurance coverage; any challenges to our decisions and assumptions in assessing and complying with our tax obligations; any changes in our jurisdictional earnings mix or in the tax laws or accepted interpretations of tax laws in those jurisdictions; the ability to pay dividends on our common stock at historical rates or at all; the difference between our stockholders' rights and rights of stockholders of a U.S. corporation; the potential difficulty in obtaining or enforcing judgments or bringing legal actions against Orion S.A. (a Luxembourg incorporated entity) in the U.S. or elsewhere outside Luxembourg; the difference between Luxembourg & European insolvency and bankruptcy laws from U.S. insolvency laws; our relationships with our workforce, including negotiations with labor unions, strikes and work stoppages; our ability to recruit or retain key management and personnel; any disruptive changes in international and local economic conditions, dislocations in credit and capital markets and inflation or deflation; and our ability to generate the funds required to service our debt and finance our operations.

Factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements include those factors detailed under the captions "Cautionary Statement for Purposes of the "Safe Harbor" Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995" and "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report in Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and in Note Q. Commitments and Contingencies to our audited Consolidated Financial Statements and in Note J. Commitments and Contingencies to our unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2025. It is not possible for our management to predict all risk factors and uncertainties, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information, other than as required by applicable law.

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We present certain financial measures that are not prepared in accordance with GAAP or the accounting standards of any other jurisdiction and may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies. For a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their nearest comparable GAAP measures, see section Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures below.

These non-GAAP measures include, but are not limited to Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Diluted EPS, Free Cash Flow and Net Debt.

We define Adjusted Net Income as Net income, stock-based compensation, and non-recurring items (such as, restructuring expenses, legal settlement gain, etc.). We define Adjusted EBITDA as Income from operations before depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, and non-recurring items plus Earnings in affiliated companies, net of tax. We define Adjusted Diluted EPS as Adjusted Net Income divided by Diluted Weighted-average shares outstanding. We define Free Cash Flow as Adjusted EBITDA, Capital expenditures, Cash paid for interest, net, Cash paid for income taxes and Dividends paid to stockholders.

Our operations are managed by senior executives who report to our Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), the chief operating decision maker ("CODM"). Adjusted EBITDA is used by our chief operating decision maker ("CODM") to evaluate our operating performance and to make decisions regarding allocation of capital, because it excludes the effects of items that have less bearing on the performance of our underlying core business. We use this measure, together with other measures of performance under GAAP, to compare the relative performance of operations in planning, budgeting and reviewing our business. By eliminating potential differences in results of operations between periods caused by factors such as depreciation and amortization, historic cost and age of assets, financing and capital structures and taxation positions or regimes, we believe that Adjusted EBITDA provides a useful additional basis for evaluating and comparing the current performance of the underlying operations.

We believe our non-GAAP measures are useful measures of financial performance in addition to Net income, Income from operations, diluted EPS and other profitability measures under GAAP, because they facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period. In addition, we believe these non-GAAP measures aid investors by providing additional insight into our operational performance and help clarify trends affecting our business.

Other companies and analysts may calculate non-GAAP financial measures differently, so making comparisons among companies on this basis should be done carefully. Non-GAAP measures are not performance measures under GAAP and should not be considered in isolation or construed as substitutes for Net sales, Net income, Income from operations, Gross profit and other GAAP measures as an indicator of our operations in accordance with GAAP.

With respect to Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Diluted EPS outlook for 2025, we are not able to reconcile the forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to the closest corresponding GAAP measure without unreasonable efforts because we are unable to predict the ultimate outcome of certain significant items. These items include, but are not limited to, significant legal settlements, tax and regulatory reserve changes, restructuring costs and acquisition and financing related impacts.

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Christopher Kapsch

Vice President of Investor Relations

+1 281-318-4413

[email protected]