Oct 28, 2026 earnings call — Volume growth and Project Catalyst progress
Adjusted EBITDA was $66 million, up 18% versus the prior year.
Revenue $0.7B (est $0.6B) · EPS $0.94 (est $0.72)
Key quotes
"Organic volume grew 7% with growth in all 3 segments."
"Our pricing actions together with our disciplined execution of our contractual pass through mechanism offset those higher costs."
"The savings run rate increased to approximately $23 million in the third quarter."
Analyst Q&A 3
margins, pricing, and catalyst savings
Q (Mike · Seaport Research Partners): He asked how raw material inflation affected margins across the three segments and whether pricing will neutralize that in Q4. He also asked how Project Catalyst should contribute to earnings in 2027 versus 2026, and asked about Germany maintenance and pre-buying effects.
A: Management said the environment is volatile but, with current oil prices, they believe they are in a good position and most pricing actions have been taken. They said Project Catalyst is ahead of plan and is delivering savings now with a growing run rate into 2027. They said the Germany turnaround cost the polymers business about $2 million-plus in Q3 and U.S. maintenance will impact Q4 as planned; some pre-buying partly shifted results between Q2 and Q3.
"Instead of the 60, we are more in the $66 million to $70 million range." — Luis E. Rojo (CEO)
where margin gains came from
Q (Dave Storms · Stonegate): He asked how much of margin growth came from new customers versus share gains given 340 new customers and 900 new combinations. He also asked if polymers in Europe and Asia show signs of improvement and whether El Nino will change crop-productivity customer buying.
A: Management said volume growth (for example 7%) reduces fixed-cost leverage and improves margins, and the surfactant business grew EBITDA in all regions. For polymers, they said weakness in Europe and China is a macro story but expect long-term opportunity in Europe as energy-efficiency work develops over 3 to 5 years. On crop productivity, they see macro weakness but will keep innovating and growing share with multinational and tier 2/3 customers.
"Look. When you are growing volume 7%, of course, you have the benefit of reducing all the fixed costs, and improving the margins this way." — Luis E. Rojo (CEO)
consumer share, MCT, Pasadena, Latin America
Q (Ghoshik · Singular): He asked whether the consumer double-digit share gains are sustainable given competitor raw-material shortages. He also asked about MCT volume sustainability and any order-timing benefits, Pasadena utilization and benefits of full utilization, and Latin America exposure to Asian imports.
A: They said consumer gains come from a tier 1 plus tier 2/3 strategy and they are executing both, so the gains are sustainable across customers. For MCT, pharma seasonality drove Q3 shipments and they have expanded MCT offerings across price tiers, but fatty-acid raw-material headwinds limited faster growth. Pasadena is running about 75%-80% utilization and they expect more tolling savings as they ramp; Latin America benefits from local footprint, Brazil is more protected, and Mexico sees more Asian imports.
"We are in the, you know, 75%-80% range." — Luis E. Rojo (CEO)