Huntsman earnings jump from first quarter of 2003

The Huntsman Cos., founded by Utahn Jon M. Huntsman and headquartered in Salt Lake City, on Monday reported combined earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $207.8 million for the first quarter, up from pro forma EBITDA of $139.2 million for the 2003 first quarter.

The most recent quarter's figure was down a bit from EBITDA in the 2003 fourth quarter of $208.4 million.

The combined Huntsman companies include HMP Equity Holdings Corp. and its principal operating subsidiaries Huntsman LLC, Huntsman International Holdings LLC and Huntsman Advanced Materials LLC.

The combined companies constitute the world's largest privately held chemical company, manufacturing products for the plastics, automotive, footwear, paints and coatings, agriculture, furniture and packaging industries, among others.

Adjusted combined EBITDA for the first quarter was $221.7 million. The adjusted figure eliminates the impacts of restructuring and reorganization costs, gains and losses on the accounts receivable securitization program, losses from early extinguishment of debt, and minority interest in the case of HMP Equity and in the case of Huntsman LLC on a consolidated basis. The year-ago figure pro forma figure was $169.8 million, while the 2003 fourth-quarter number was $218.4 million.

At the end of the first quarter, the companies had combined cash and unused borrowing capacity of approximately $690 million, composed of $207 million at Huntsman LLC, $376 million at HIH and $107 million at Advanced Materials.