Dow Inc. posted lower sales but higher profit in the first quarter of 2024.
In the first quarter, Midland, Mich.-based Dow had sales of almost $10.8 billion, down 9 percent vs. the same period in 2023. The firm reported a $538 million profit for the quarter after showing a $73 million loss in the year-ago period.
In a news release, Chairman and CEO Jim Fitterling said that in the first quarter, Dow "captured improving demand, maintained pricing and benefited from lower feedstock and energy costs."
He added that "the strength of [Dow's] cost-advantaged positions around the world led to higher operating rates" and that the firm "delivered volume growth and margin expansion sequentially across our diverse portfolio."
First-quarter sales at Dow's Packaging & Specialty Plastics unit—including one of the world's largest polyethylene resin businesses—were down 11 percent to $5.4 billion, with operating profit down almost 6 percent to $605 million. The unit's sales volume in pounds was down 3 percent in the first quarter.
Dow's Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure business, which includes polyurethanes, saw sales fall 11 percent to a little more than $3 billion in the first quarter. That unit posted fourth-quarter operating profit of $87 million, down 29 percent from a year ago. The unit's sales volume in pounds was up 4 percent in the first quarter.
Looking ahead, Fitterling said that in the near-term, demand in key end-markets from packaging and mobility to energy applications "is trending sequentially higher and in line with our expectations at the start of the year."
Dow is one of the world's largest producers of PE and specialty resins. The firm posted sales of almost $45 billion in full-year 2023. In November, Dow's board approved a $6.5 billion investment in sustainable materials—including polyethylene resin—in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta.
On Wall Street, Dow's per-share stock price began 2023 at $55, came close to $60 in early April and was at $56 in early trading April 25 for an increase of almost 2 percent since Jan. 1.
