Huntsman to Close German Maleic Anhydride Plant After Strategic Review

Huntsman Corporation HUN has announced the completion of a strategic review of its European Maleic Anhydride business, leading to the decision to permanently close its Maleic Anhydride facility in Moers, Germany. This move comes after a thorough evaluation of the business’s performance. The closure is expected to be completed by the end of the current quarter.

The decision is driven by the underperformance in the European Maleic Anhydride operations, which recorded an adjusted EBITDA loss of approximately $10 million in 2024. Huntsman has decided to serve customers in the European region through its facilities in North America, which are located in Pensacola, FL, and Geismar, LA.

As a result of the facility closure in Moers, Huntsman expects to incur a one-time, non-cash asset impairment charge of around $75 million in the second quarter of 2025. 

Shares of Huntsman have lost 54% in the past year compared with the Zacks Chemicals Diversified industry’s 27.8% decline.

HUN, on its first-quarter call, noted that order patterns in many of its key markets, including construction, transportation and other industrial-related markets, are being hurt by low visibility and customer uncertainty regarding demand trends. The cautious customer order patterns are adversely impacting the seasonal volume improvement in its markets. While HUN is optimistic about an improvement in demand conditions, it remains focused on cost actions, which include workforce reductions as well as asset optimization in both Europe and North America.

HUN’s Rank & Key Picks

HUN currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS, Alamos Gold Inc. AGI and Hawkins, Inc. HWKN

Carpenter Technology currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). CRS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 11.1%. The company's shares have soared 110% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Alamos Gold current-year earnings is pegged at $1.29 per share. AGI, carrying a Zacks Rank #1, surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters while missing twice, with the average earnings surprise being 1.4%. The company's shares have rallied 58.1% in the past year.

Hawkins, which currently carries a Zacks Rank #2, beat the consensus estimate in one of the trailing four quarters while missing thrice. In this time frame, it delivered an earnings surprise of roughly 8.2%, on average. The company's shares have rallied 43.6% in the past year.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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