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Hexion Inc. Announces First Quarter 2018 ResultsHexion Inc. ("Hexion" or the "Company") today announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018. "Hexion reported strong Segment EBITDA gains of 24% and sales growth of 9%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2018," said Craig A. Rogerson, Chairman, President and CEO. "First quarter 2018 Segment EBITDA reflected significant improvement in our base epoxy resins and phenolic specialty resins businesses, as well as the positive impact of our recent structural cost reduction initiatives. We also drove higher Segment EBITDA in all regions of our formaldehyde and forest products resins business." Mr. Rogerson added: "We continue to experience strong Segment EBITDA growth in 2018 reflecting tailwinds across the portfolio including improved demand in our forest products business, and continued strength in market fundamentals in base epoxy resins, which are expected to persist for the foreseeable future. We also expect our specialty epoxy business to benefit from growing market demand for waterborne coatings over the next few years and long-term secular growth in renewable energy to support our wind energy business." First Quarter 2018 Results Net Sales. Net sales for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 were $946 million, an increase of 9% compared with $870 million in the prior year period. The increase in reported net sales was driven by pricing actions primarily in the base epoxy resins business and the pass-through of higher raw material costs in the global forest products resins and phenolic specialty resins businesses. Segment EBITDA. Segment EBITDA for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 was $118 million, an increase of 24% compared with the prior year period. Segment EBITDA in the first quarter of 2018 increased by $24 million, or 26%, when adjusted for divestitures. First quarter 2018 results reflected the ongoing cost reductions and improved margins in the Company's base epoxy resins, phenolic specialty resins, and global forest product resins and formaldehyde businesses. Global Restructuring Programs In the first quarter of 2018, the Company achieved $13 million of cost savings, including reductions in selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses and targeted site rationalizations. Hexion recently identified approximately $40 million in additional structural cost savings with approximately 90% of the savings related to headcount reductions. At March 31, 2018, Hexion had $39 million of total in-process cost savings. The Company has taken the majority of the actions and the impact is expected to be realized by year-end 2018. Segment Results Following are net sales and Segment EBITDA by reportable segment for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 and 2017. See "Non-U.S. GAAP Measures" for further information regarding Segment EBITDA and a reconciliation of net loss to Segment EBITDA.
Liquidity and Capital Resources At March 31, 2018, Hexion had total debt of approximately $3.8 billion compared to $3.7 billion at December 31, 2017. In addition, at March 31, 2018, the Company had $282 million in liquidity comprised of $95 million of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, $145 million of borrowings available under the Company's senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility (the "ABL Facility") and $42 million of time drafts and availability under credit facilities at certain international subsidiaries. Hexion expects to have adequate liquidity to fund its ongoing operations for the next twelve months from cash on its balance sheet, cash flows provided by operating activities and amounts available for borrowings under its credit facilities. Earnings Call Hexion will host a teleconference to discuss First Quarter 2018 results on Monday, May 14, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Interested parties are asked to dial-in approximately 10 minutes before the call begins at the following numbers:
U.S. Participants: (844) 492-6045 Live Internet access to the call and presentation materials will be available through the Investor Relations section of the Company's website: www.hexion.com. A replay of the call will be available for one week beginning at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 14, 2018. The playback can be accessed by dialing (855) 859-2056 (U.S.) and +1 (404) 537-3406 (International). The passcode is 3793847. A replay will also be available through the Investor Relations section of the Company's website. Covenant Compliance The instruments that govern the Company's indebtedness contain, among other provisions, restrictive covenants regarding indebtedness (including an Adjusted EBITDA to Fixed Charges ratio incurrence test), dividends and distributions, mergers and acquisitions, asset sales, affiliate transactions and capital expenditures. The indentures that govern the Company's 6.625% First-Priority Senior Secured Notes, 10.00% First-Priority Senior Secured Notes, 10.375% First-Priority Senior Secured Notes, 13.75% Senior Secured Notes and 9.00% Second-Priority Senior Secured Notes (collectively, the "Secured Indentures") contain an Adjusted EBITDA to Fixed Charges ratio incurrence test which may restrict our ability to take certain actions such as incurring additional debt or making acquisitions if the Company is unable to meet this ratio (measured on a last twelve months, or LTM, basis) of at least 2.0:1. The Adjusted EBITDA to Fixed Charges ratio under the Secured Indentures is generally defined as the ratio of (a) Adjusted EBITDA to (b) net interest expense excluding the amortization or write-off of deferred financing costs, each measured on a last twelve months ("LTM") basis. See "Non-U.S. GAAP Measures" for further information regarding Adjusted EBITDA and Schedule 5 to the release for a calculation of the Adjusted EBITDA to Fixed Charges ratio. The Company's ABL Facility does not have any financial maintenance covenant other than a minimum Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio of 1.0 to 1.0 that would only apply if the Company's availability under the ABL Facility at any time is less than the greater of (a) $35 million and (b) 12.5% of the lesser of the borrowing base and the total ABL Facility commitments at such time. The Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio under the credit agreement governing the ABL Facility is generally defined as the ratio of (a) Adjusted EBITDA minus non-financed capital expenditures and cash taxes to (b) debt service plus cash interest expense plus certain restricted payments, each measured on an LTM basis. At March 31, 2018, the Company's availability under the ABL Facility exceeded such levels; therefore, the minimum fixed charge coverage ratio did not apply. Non-U.S. GAAP Measures Segment EBITDA is defined as EBITDA adjusted to exclude certain non-cash and non-recurring expenses. Segment EBITDA is an important measure used by the Company's senior management and board of directors to evaluate operating results and allocate capital resources among segments. Corporate and Other primarily represents certain corporate, general and administrative expenses that are not allocated to the other segments. Segment EBITDA should not be considered a substitute for net loss or other results reported in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Segment EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. Adjusted Segment EBITDA is defined as Segment EBITDA adjusted for disposition. See Schedule 4 to this release for reconciliation of net loss to Segment EBITDA and Adjusted Segment EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA adjusted for certain non-cash and certain non-recurring items and other adjustments calculated on a pro forma basis, including the expected future cost savings from business optimization programs or other programs and the expected future impact of acquisitions, in each case as determined under the governing debt instrument. As the Company is highly leveraged, it believes that including the supplemental adjustments that are made to calculate Adjusted EBITDA provides additional information to investors about the Company's ability to comply with its financial covenants and to obtain additional debt in the future. Adjusted EBITDA and Fixed Charges are not defined terms under U.S. GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of financial condition, liquidity or profitability, and should not be considered as an alternative to net loss determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP or operating cash flows determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Additionally, Adjusted EBITDA is not intended to be a measure of free cash flow for management's discretionary use, as it does not take into account certain items such as interest and principal payments on our indebtedness, depreciation and amortization expense (because the Company uses capital assets, depreciation and amortization expense is a necessary element of our costs and ability to generate revenue), working capital needs, tax payments (because the payment of taxes is part of our operations, it is a necessary element of our costs and ability to operate), non-recurring expenses and capital expenditures. Fixed Charges under the Secured Indentures should not be considered an alternative to interest expense. See Schedule 5 to this release for reconciliation of net loss to Adjusted EBITDA and the Fixed Charges Ratio. Forward Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of and made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In addition, our management may from time to time make oral forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project," "plan," "estimate," "may," "will," "could," "should," "seek" or "intend" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements reflect our current expectations and assumptions regarding our business, the economy and other future events and conditions and are based on currently available financial, economic and competitive data and our current business plans. Actual results could vary materially depending on risks and uncertainties that may affect our operations, markets, services, prices and other factors as discussed in the Risk Factors section of our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). While we believe our assumptions are reasonable, we caution you against relying on any forward-looking statements as it is very difficult to predict the impact of known factors, and it is impossible for us to anticipate all factors that could affect our actual results. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, a weakening of global economic and financial conditions, interruptions in the supply of or increased cost of raw materials, the loss of, or difficulties with the further realization of, cost savings in connection with our strategic initiatives, the impact of our substantial indebtedness, our failure to comply with financial covenants under our credit facilities or other debt, pricing actions by our competitors that could affect our operating margins, changes in governmental regulations and related compliance and litigation costs and the other factors listed in our SEC filings. For a more detailed discussion of these and other risk factors, see the Risk Factors section in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and our other filings made with the SEC. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice. The forward-looking statements made by us speak only as of the date on which they are made. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law. About the Company Based in Columbus, Ohio, Hexion Inc. is a global leader in thermoset resins. Hexion Inc. serves the global wood and industrial markets through a broad range of thermoset technologies, specialty products and technical support for customers in a diverse range of applications and industries. Hexion Inc. is controlled by investment funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management, LLC. Additional information about Hexion Inc. and its products is available at www.hexion.com. See Attached Financial Statements
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