First quarter GAAP EPS from continuing operations of $0.54 compared to $0.23 in the prior year quarter First quarter adjusted EPS of $0.76 exceeded guidance of $0.68 primarily as a result of better-than-expected customer demand from defense applications and lower raw material costs First quarter adjusted EPS increased 21% over the prior year driven by improved margins from lower raw material costs and favorable mix, and lower net interest expense Revised 2024 full-year adjusted EPS guidance range to $2.50 to $2.65, from prior guidance of $2.40 to $2.65 given strong first quarter results; Revised full-year guidance range reflects 6% to 12% growth in adjusted EPS over the prior year CLEVELAND, May 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT), a leading provider of specialized and sustainable materials solutions, today announced its first quarter results for 2024. The company reported first quarter sales of $829.0 million compared to $845.7 million in the prior year quarter. First quarter GAAP earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations was $0.54 compared to $0.23 in the prior year quarter. The company noted that first quarter 2024 GAAP EPS includes $0.06 of special items (see Attachment 3) and $0.16 of intangible amortization expense (see Attachment 1). First quarter 2024 adjusted EPS was $0.76 compared to $0.63 in the prior year. "It is a positive start to the year, as we grew first quarter adjusted EPS by 21% over the prior year," said Dr. Ashish Khandpur, President and Chief Executive Officer, Avient Corporation. "Our performance was supported by strong demand for our Dyneema® fiber technology used in personal protection applications and raw material deflation. These drivers resulted in total company adjusted EBITDA margin of 17.3% for the quarter, a 150 basis point year-over-year improvement." Dr. Khandpur added, "From a regional standpoint, the Americas continues to be the most resilient, delivering year over year sales growth in the first quarter. In Greater China, we also saw year over year growth primarily from industrial and healthcare end markets. The underlying growth in these regions helped offset softer demand in Europe and Southeast Asia." 2024 Outlook "Looking ahead to the second quarter, we expect adjusted EPS of $0.71, a 13% increase over the prior year," said Jamie Beggs, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Avient Corporation. "We expect year over year demand improvement from consumer, packaging and defense end markets, which make up roughly half of our portfolio. We also expect raw material deflation to support margin expansion year over year, albeit to a lesser extent than in the first quarter." Ms. Beggs continued, "On a full-year basis, we remain optimistic about demand conditions improving while remaining mindful of a strengthening U.S. dollar, persistent macro inflation and a higher for longer interest rate environment. Accordingly, we are taking a balanced view considering these factors and our better-than-expected first quarter performance, and raising the low end of our full year guidance. Our revised range for adjusted EBITDA is between $510 million and $535 million, from our previous range of $505 million and $535 million. Our revised range for adjusted EPS is between $2.50 and $2.65, from our previous range of $2.40 and $2.65." "We are focused on driving profitable, organic, top-line growth while expanding margins," added Dr. Khandpur. "To do so, we will amplify our innovation by prioritizing our investments in high growth end markets with attractive secular trends. This will be an important component to delivering long-term sustainable growth, and I look forward to communicating our detailed strategy later this year." Avient will provide additional details on its 2024 first quarter and 2024 outlook during its webcast scheduled for 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on May 7, 2024. Webcast Details Avient will host a webcast on Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. ET. The webcast can be viewed live at avient.com/investors, or by clicking on the webcast link here. Conference call participants in the question and answer session should pre-register using the link at avient.com/investors, or here, to receive the dial-in numbers and personal PIN. This information is required to access the conference call. The question and answer session will follow the company's presentation and prepared remarks. A recording of the webcast and the slide presentation will be available at avient.com/investors/events-presentations immediately following the conference call and will be accessible for one year. Non-GAAP Financial Measures The Company uses both GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) and non-GAAP financial measures. The non-GAAP financial measures include adjusted EPS, adjusted operating income, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margins. Avient's chief operating decision maker uses these financial measures to monitor and evaluate the ongoing performance of the Company and each business segment and to allocate resources. The Company does not provide reconciliations of forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures, such as adjusted EPS and adjusted EBITDA, to the most comparable GAAP financial measures on a forward-looking basis because the Company is unable to provide a meaningful or accurate calculation or estimation of reconciling items and the information is not available without unreasonable effort. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing and amount of certain items, such as, but not limited to, environmental remediation costs, mark-to-market adjustments associated with benefit plans, acquisition related costs, and other non-routine costs. Each of such adjustments has not yet occurred, are out of the Company's control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, the Company is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information. To access Avient's news library online, please visit www.avient.com/news-events. About Avient Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) provides specialized and sustainable materials solutions that transform customer challenges into opportunities, bringing new products to life for a better world. Examples include: Dyneema®, the world's strongest fiber™, enables unmatched levels of performance and protection for end-use applications, including ballistic personal protection, marine and sustainable infrastructure and outdoor sports Unique technologies that improve the recyclability of products and enable recycled content to be incorporated, thus advancing a more circular economy Light-weighting solutions that replace heavier traditional materials like metal, glass and wood, which can improve fuel efficiency in all modes of transportation and reduce carbon footprint Sustainable infrastructure solutions that increase energy efficiency, renewable energy, natural resource conservation and fiber optic / 5G network accessibility Avient is certified ACC Responsible Care®, a founding member of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste and certified Great Place to Work®. For more information, visit https://www.avient.com. Forward-looking Statements  In this press release, statements that are not reported financial results or other historical information are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements give current expectations or forecasts of future events and are not guarantees of future performance. They are based on management's expectations that involve a number of business risks and uncertainties, any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. They use words such as "will," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial condition, performance and/or sales. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the credit markets that could adversely impact the availability of credit already arranged and the availability and cost of credit in the future; the effect on foreign operations of currency fluctuations, tariffs and other political, economic and regulatory risks; disruptions or inefficiencies in our supply chain, logistics, or operations; changes in laws and regulations in jurisdictions where we conduct business, including with respect to plastics and climate change; fluctuations in raw material prices, quality and supply, and in energy prices and supply; demand for our products and services; production outages or material costs associated with scheduled or unscheduled maintenance programs; unanticipated developments that could occur with respect to contingencies such as litigation and environmental matters; our ability to pay regular quarterly cash dividends and the amounts and timing of any future dividends; information systems failures and cyberattacks; amounts for cash and non-cash charges related to restructuring plans that may differ from original estimates, including because of timing changes associated with the underlying actions; our ability to achieve strategic objectives and successfully integrate acquisitions, including the implementation of a cloud-based enterprise resource planning system, S/4HANA; and other factors affecting our business beyond our control, including without limitation, changes in the general economy, changes in interest rates, changes in the rate of inflation, geopolitical conflicts and any recessionary conditions. The above list of factors is not exhaustive. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are advised to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our reports on Form 10-Q, 8-K and 10-K that we provide to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Attachment 1 Avient Corporation Summary of Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited) (In millions, except per share data) Three Months Ended March 31, 2024 2023 Sales $       829.0 $       845.7 Operating income 94.0 57.1 Net income from continuing operations attributable to Avient shareholders 49.4 20.8 Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations attributable to Avient shareholders $         0.54 $         0.23 Senior management uses comparisons of adjusted net income from continuing operations attributable to Avient shareholders and diluted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations attributable to Avient shareholders, excluding special items, to assess performance and facilitate comparability of results. Senior management believes these measures are useful to investors because they allow for comparison to Avient's performance in prior periods without the effect of items that, by their nature, tend to obscure Avient's operating results due to the potential variability across periods based on timing, frequency and magnitude. Non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation from, or solely as alternatives to, financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Below is a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. See Attachment 3 for a definition and summary of special items.   Three Months Ended March 31, 2024 2023 Reconciliation to Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income $ EPS $ EPS Net income from continuing operations attributable to Avient shareholders $         49.4 $         0.54 $         20.8 $         0.23 Special items, after-tax (Attachment 3) 5.5 0.06 22.3 0.24 Amortization expense, after-tax 14.9 0.16 15.1 0.16 Adjusted net income / EPS $         69.8 $         0.76 $         58.2 $         0.63   Attachment 2 Avient Corporation Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited) (In millions, except per share data) Three Months Ended March 31, 2024 2023 Sales $       829.0 $       845.7 Cost of sales 550.8 598.1 Gross margin 278.2 247.6 Selling and administrative expense 184.2 190.5 Operating income 94.0 57.1 Interest expense, net (26.6) (28.8) Other (expense) income, net (0.9) 0.7 Income from continuing operations before income taxes 66.5 29.0 Income tax expense (16.8) (7.7) Net income from continuing operations 49.7 21.3 Loss from discontinued operations, net of income taxes — (0.9) Net income 49.7 20.4 Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests