Koppers Earnings Beat, Revenues Fall Short of Estimates in Q1

Koppers Holdings Inc. KOP logged a loss (attributable to the company) of $13.9 million or a loss of 68 cents per share for the first quarter of 2025. This is in contrast to a profit of $13 million or 59 cents per share a year ago. 

Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings were 71 cents per share for the quarter, up from 62 cents per share a year ago and ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 56 cents.

Koppers recorded revenues of $456.5 million for the quarter, down around 8% year over year. The top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $488 million. 

Higher prices and reduced costs in the Railroad and Utility Products and Services (RUPS) segment and improved operating performance and lower costs in the Carbon Materials and Chemicals (CMC) unit were partly offset by lower sales volumes in the Performance Chemicals (PC) segment.

(Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.)
 

Koppers Holdings Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Koppers Holdings Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Koppers Holdings Inc. Quote

KOP's Segment Highlights

Sales from the RUPS segment rose around 4% year over year to $235 million in the reported quarter. It was above the consensus estimate of $230 million. Sales were driven by increased volumes from Class I crosstie customers, price rises for most products and higher volumes of domestic utility poles.

The PC segment recorded sales of $120.9 million in the quarter, down around 20% year over year. It was below the consensus estimate of $139 million. Sales were impacted by reduced volumes of residential and industrial preservatives in the Americas. 

Sales from the CMC division fell around 18% year over year to $100.6 million. It missed the consensus estimate of $119 million. The downside was due to lower volumes for phthalic anhydride and reduced prices for carbon pitch.

Koppers' Financials

Koppers ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $33.3 million, down around 24% from the prior quarter. Long-term debt was $975.9 million, up around 5% sequentially.

KOP's Outlook

Koppers now anticipates sales for 2025 to be roughly $2-$2.2 billion compared with $2.17 billion expected earlier, factoring in the current competitive landscape, global economic conditions and the prevailing uncertainty associated with geopolitical and supply chain challenges. It expects adjusted EBITDA to be around $280 million for the year. Koppers sees adjusted earnings per share to be $4.75 for 2025.

The company also expects capital expenditures of $65 million for this year. It sees operating cash flows of $150 million in 2025. 

KOP Stock’s Price Performance

Koppers’ shares have lost 31.7% in the past year compared with the Zacks Chemicals Diversified industry’s 25.4% decline.

KOP’s Zacks Rank & Other Chemical Releases

KOP currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Ingevity Corporation NGVT logged adjusted earnings of 99 cents per share in the first quarter,  up from 47 cents a year ago. NGVT expects 2025 sales to be between $1.25 billion and $1.40 billion, and adjusted EBITDA between $380 million and $415 million.

The Chemours Company’s CC adjusted earnings were 13 cents per share for the first quarter. The metric fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 19 cents per share. CC expects full-year 2025 adjusted EBITDA between $825 million and $950 million. 

Element Solutions Inc. ESI logged first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 34 cents per share. It beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 33 cents. ESI anticipates adjusted EBITDA for 2025 to be between $520 million and $540 million.

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