Huntsman (NYSE: HUN) reported Q4 EPS of $0.52, $0.03 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.55. Revenue for the quarter came in at $2.24 billion versus the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion.

• 2018 net income of $650 million compared to $741 million in the prior year; 2018 diluted earnings per share of $1.39 compared to $2.61 in the prior year.
• 2018 adjusted net income of $808 million compared to $604 million in the prior year; 2018 adjusted diluted earnings per share of $3.34 compared to $2.48 in the prior year.
• 2018 adjusted EBITDA of $1,469 million compared to $1,259 million in the prior year.
• Fourth quarter net loss of $315 million compared to net income of $287 million in the prior year period; Fourth quarter diluted loss per share of $1.43 compared to diluted earnings per share of $1.00 in the prior year period.
• Fourth quarter adjusted net income of $123 million compared to $186 million in the prior year period; Fourth quarter adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.52 compared to $0.76 in the prior year period.
• Fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA of $275 million compared to $360 million in the prior year period.
• 2018 net cash provided by operating activities was $963 million. Free cash flow generation was $651 million.
• Balance sheet remains strong with a net leverage of 1.3x.
• 2018 share repurchases of approximately 10.4 million shares for approximately $276 million.

Peter R. Huntsman, Chairman, President and CEO, commented:

"2018 was another successful year for Huntsman as we reported record earnings and consistent robust free cash flow. We continued to expand in our downstream and differentiated businesses both through internal investments and bolt-on acquisitions. We reinforced our investment grade level balance sheet by entering into an expanded $1.2 billion senior unsecured revolver, and we remain well within investment grade metrics with a 1.3x net leverage ratio. We also significantly enhanced our capital return to shareholders this past year by increasing our regular quarterly dividend by 30% and repurchasing over 10 million shares for approximately $276 million.

"In spite of strong customer destocking brought about by seasonal slowness, falling crude prices and economic uncertainties, our results reflect one of our strongest fourth quarters in our history. We will continue to globalize recent investments, focus on our higher growth markets, and expand on our downstream businesses. We will also continue to make key investments to support our core long-term growth, such as building a new MDI splitter at our Geismar, Louisiana facility to support differentiated downstream growth, make additional bolt-on acquisitions as appropriate, and continue a balanced opportunistic approach to share buy-backs. 2019 will be another year of strong free cash flow generation and growth in our downstream businesses."

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Huntsman (HUN) click here.