Sales up 2% at Eastman Chemical in 2014

31 Jan '15

4 min read

The fourth-quarter 2014 tax rate was reduced by the one-year extension in December 2014 of favourable US Federal tax provisions, which resulted in a net benefit of $15 million.

Excluding the tax impact of non-core or non-recurring items, the full-year 2014 effective tax rate was 26 per cent compared to 28 per cent for full year 2013.

In 2014, Eastman generated $1.4 billion in cash from operating activities, while 2014 free cash flow, defined as cash from operating activities minus capital expenditures, was $810 million.

In addition, during 2014 the company contributed $120 million to its US defined benefit pension plans and repurchased shares of $410 million.

CEO Mark Costa said, “We enter 2015 well positioned to benefit from our strong portfolio of specialty businesses, including the accretive acquisitions we completed in 2014.”

“We are confident that we will continue to deliver long-term value from our leadership positions in key markets, the diversity of end-markets and geographies we serve, and market adoption of our specialty products,” he added.

“Under current business conditions, we expect 2015 earnings per share to be similar to 2014 earnings per share,” he noted. (AR)

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