Huntsman Corp. Q1 2009 Earnings Call Transcript

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2009-05-08 12:47:14.0

Tags: China, Huntsman Corp., Call Transcript, Earnings, Citigroup Inc., Corporate Governance, Pricing, Blade Servers, Business Operations, Corporate Law, Marketing, Servers, Hardware, Seeking Alpha

Question-and-Answer Session

Operator

(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from Erick Hanson from Citigroup.

Erick Hanson - Citigroup

I was wondering if you could discuss the fundamentals in Polyurethanes business globally, including how much capacity is coming online this year, especially in Asia?

Peter Huntsman

I think with the capacity that’s coming on in Asia, much of that is a single largest facility to come on stream is the buyer facility, which is hit down the road from us in Kuching. So that is already come into the market and I know there’s been some minor devolve in that project, so far coming in as well.

I think more significant that what’s come in is the discipline of the players and the producers in the Chinese and the Asian markets. I think that I have been quite surprised that the resiliency and the strength and pricing, and the overall capacity utilization. So, I think that the producers there are I think quite discipline with plant closures and so forth, but in front of me I don’t have exactly, which capacities are expected to come on at what time.

Erick Hanson - Citigroup

Can you comments on, what operating rates are for your plants in that region?

Peter Huntsman

Right now in China, because our facility has been shutdown, most of the fourth quarter and the early part of the first quarter, our inventories are at very, very low levels and our plants are running today better that 90% capacity utilization because of demand today. We are seeing very strong demand today in China. Again, as I said in my comments during the call, I think a lot of this is restocking. I think a lot of it is fundamental demand on downstream product from insulation to automotive.

In China, in particular, we’re seeing demand in everything from products that are going into curing, wind blades to the automotive sector, to the construction sector, to the textile sector. So, it’s not just really one area. I think that we’re seeing quite a solid, across the board in improvement in demand over what we saw the early part of the first quarter of this year.

Operator

Your next question comes from Laurence Alexander - Jefferies.

Laurence Alexander - Jefferies

Could you give a little bit more detail on the different end markets that advanced martial sell into? What the trends have been and in particularly how you see that those markets playing outs in April, May?

 

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