Earnings Sentiment

Sentiment Analysis of the earnings transcript to help figure out if there are any bullish or bearish sentiments that could be gathered from it. We're doing ML and AI based analysis on the earnings call to get some more insights.

Please consider a small donation if you think this website provides you with relevant information  

    

Sentiment Distribution

   

Earnings Call Transcript Word Cloud

     

Bullish Statements during Earnings call

Statement
But again, very excited about the growth that we see coming in both TSS and APM
This is the seventh quarterly net sales record in a row
But we believe that in terms of the actions that we've taken we're well positioned for that market turn, but to answer the question, kind of, directly, you know, we are seeing, you know, some green shoots here in Asia Pacific inventory levels as a result of kind of prolonged destocking down the chain do not appear to be high
So we're hugely excited about the potential of almost another business on top of what we already have going into 2025
And this business remains tied in to long-term secular gains in advanced electronics and clean energy, which we’re hugely excited about
And then finally, our TSS business continued with strong performance with another record net sales
And with the cost transformation that we've started in this year, we believe we're well positioned to take advantage of the cyclical turn when it happens
So again, very excited about the secular growth in both TSS and APM
And I think as we look into next year, I think the current expectation is that we'll continue, which is also good
So John, we're really excited about the transformation in TT that's underway and ensuring that we can be the most cost competitive, the lowest cost, and the best TiO2 producer in the world
Other efficiency gains in our plants, and other focuses on yield improvements, both in our pigment plants and at our mines
The other thing I would say is we've continued to see very strong auto bills
So again, we're excited about the work that's on the way here at the company
We're really excited about getting the product commercialized in the first instance and also finding the right set of hyperscaler partners to really make a mark in terms of how data centers are built and the amount of energy and water that get consumed
But part of the transformation plan, part of the TT transformation plan that we started with the Kuan Yin shutdown was to control what we can control, right? So that plan is going to deliver $15 million of cost savings in the fourth quarter and $50 million to $100 million over the course of next year, right? So we plan on showing $100 million improvement in our TT earnings profile into 2024
So we see a real value to our customers and the planet here in this product and we're keen to bring it to market
But listen, this would be very high return, high margin growth, because this is really driving significant value to data centers
Can you comment on any of that? Mark Newman Yes, I understand there is the industry still working through the recent regulation change with the EPA, you know, it could have some near-term impact favoring HFCs, but listen, I think the focus on the complete changeover by early 2025 and all that's needed to meet that date is going to drive good Opteon traction in 2024
And what we're focused on is, you know, absolutely being at the low-end of the cost curve, and the work that the team's doing with the TT Transformation Plan gives us the confidence to commit to $100 million for next year
But again, long-term secular growth intact
But clearly as we look at the OEM adoption of HFO platforms, you know, we see meaningful growth in HFOs in 2024 for the full-year
But John, as you know, I mean, every day you hear another headline on AI, and all that is happening in quantum computing that is really driving a significant growth in data centers
But certainly, as we look into next year, we would expect those margins to, you know, to expand and to come back to where we would expect them to be longer term
So if you look at how we're deploying capital, it is all in a way that over time will drive meaningful returns to our shareholders
And you're obviously one of the lowest cost producers out there
But The Chemours team remains focused on driving long-term shareholder value and improvements in our three industry-leading businesses
And as we, you know, as the market recovers, hopefully, you know, starting here in 2024, those cost savings will accrete to the bottom line more rapidly as we can spread the cost over a larger tonnage base
Denise and the team are really focused on ensuring that our franchise is the global winning franchise in high purity or high quality chloride pigment
We're allocating capital to grow APM in the high value markets of advanced electronics and hydrogen, and then finally you know we continue to make real progress on resolving legacy liabilities with the MOU arrangement we have with DuPont and Corteva
Obviously, there's meaningful climate benefit with HFOs, and so I think that risk is a lot lower here in the U.S
       

Bearish Statements during earnings call

Statement
And as I said in my opening remarks, we're also seeing some weakness on the advanced materials franchise of our APM business
We're having some permitting delays, which in fact impacted our Q3 growth in performance solutions
You know, 2023 has been a challenging year with a weaker second-half than we expected
Most of our year-over-year performance deterioration has been driven really by lower TT volumes, and we have responded with reductions of the TT Transformation Plan, which will shine through in 2024, as we see demand weakness decelerating
As we think of our guide for this year, obviously the two -- the main challenge that we're having this year is TT volumes
And I guess I'm a little bit surprised it's gotten actually worse as we've gone through the year
And normally I'd be a little nervous you're losing share or something like that
And obviously when you look at our results this year, a pretty significant volume hit to the franchise
But as I, sort of, sit there and think through the, sort of, goings on as they relate to your input cost, right? I mean ore costs had been high, but I'd like to imagine that in this weak, sort of, volume environment, ore costs are beginning to look a little shaky
But it feels to us like the destocking is over and obviously as we go into Q4, which is typically a weaker quarter for TT our expectation is that, you know, volumes will be flat to slightly down
And clearly, you know, when we look at volume demand deterioration starting in late Q3 last year, you know, we're at the 12-month market here
Just building on your comments, you know, as you said, we are starting to see some green shoots here in AP, while demand, you know, around the rest of the world is fairly muted
And, you know, even as we feel like we've gotten, you know, we can kind of see the bottom here and the demand de-stocking is the -- has decelerated here in the third quarter going into the fourth quarter, you know, we're not seeing, you know, outside of Asia Pacific we're not yet seeing the green shoots of a turn right
And as I said, we're seeing real deceleration in the demand reduction
And then in Europe, we had an issue about a year into their big step down where you started to get some illegal product flowing in
Look, obviously, your margins have compressed a fair bit
Because the volume weakness that you're seeing definitely doesn't seem to be matching up with what the end customers' volumes are doing
Clearly, with lower volume and lower fixed cost absorption, that's not reflecting
Our APM business is also seeing some demand weakness, especially in advanced materials, but we have achieved, again, double-digit growth year-to-date of 11% in our performance solutions
Look, the year has been a challenging year and The Chemours team has really responded well in focusing on the things we control, in driving cost reduction in TT, and in being focused on how we service the growth in TSS and APM, as we go into next year
   

Please consider a small donation if you think this website provides you with relevant information