PolyOne to Host Investor Conference Call

CLEVELAND, March 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PolyOne Corporation (NYSE: POL) a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, today announced that it will hold a special investor conference call on Friday, March 20, 2020 at 9:00 am Eastern Time. 

Robert M. Patterson, Chairman, President and CEO, and Bradley C. Richardson, Executive Vice President and CFO, will provide insights and commentary on the company's growth expectations for the first quarter, strong financial position, as well as the status of the previously announced Clariant Masterbatch acquisition. 

The company reaffirms its expectation to deliver $0.48 per share of adjusted EPS for the first quarter.  This guidance was initially provided on January 28^th, when the company reported its 2019 results and it excludes the impact of the additional shares issued in February 2020.  The company cited strong performance from its North American businesses, which is helping to offset early first quarter impacts of the COVID-19 virus in China.  The company also expects to end the first quarter with a cash position of $1.25 billion.

"In these globally challenging times, our priority remains on the health and safety of our associates, customers and communities," said Mr. Patterson.  "With this in mind, we have activated business continuity measures in all regions to ensure we're utilizing our global footprint and resources to continue to serve our customers.  This is especially important as we are a key supplier to crucial end markets serving the world at this time, such as healthcare and personal care products."

Mr. Patterson added, "Normally, we would be participating in regularly scheduled and routine investor conferences and meetings whereby we could provide these updates.  But more and more, people are rightfully avoiding group meetings, practicing social distancing and deferring unnecessary travel to stem the spread of COVID-19.  As such, and given recent inbound investor inquiries regarding current market conditions and the Clariant transaction, we are going to host this call Friday to discuss these topics. We look forward to providing more details at that time."

About PolyOne

PolyOne Corporation (NYSE: POL), with 2019 revenues of $2.9 billion, is a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions. The company adds value to global customers and improves sustainability through formulating materials, such as:

• Barrier technologies that preserve the shelf-life and quality of food, beverages, medicine and other perishable goods through high-performance materials that require less plastic
• Light-weighting solutions that replace heavier traditional materials like metal, glass and wood, which can improve fuel efficiency in all modes of transportation
• Breakthrough technologies that minimize wastewater and improve the recyclability of materials and packaging across a spectrum of end uses

PolyOne employs approximately 5,600 associates, is certified ACC Responsible Care® and is a founding member of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste.  For more information, visit www.polyone.com.

Forward-looking Statements

In this press release, statements that are not reported financial results or other historical information are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements give current expectations or forecasts of future events and are not guarantees of future performance. They are based on management's expectations that involve a number of business risks and uncertainties, any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. They use words such as "will," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial condition, performance and/or sales. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the finalization of our financial statements for the quarter ending March 31, 2020; the time required to consummate the acquisition of Clariant's color and additive masterbatch business; the satisfaction or waiver of conditions in the purchase agreements; any material adverse changes in Clariant's color and additive masterbatch business; the ability to obtain required regulatory or other third-party approvals and consents and otherwise consummate the proposed acquisition of Clariant's color and additive masterbatch business; our ability to achieve the strategic and other objectives relating to the proposed acquisition of Clariant's color and additive masterbatch business, including any expected synergies; our ability to successfully integrate Clariant's color and additive masterbatch business and achieve the expected results of the acquisition of Clariant's color and additive masterbatch business, including, without limitation, the acquisition being accretive; disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the credit markets that could adversely impact the availability of credit already arranged and the availability and cost of credit in the future; the effect on foreign operations of currency fluctuations, tariffs and other political, economic and regulatory risks; changes in polymer consumption growth rates and laws and regulations regarding plastics in jurisdictions where we conduct business; changes in global industry capacity or in the rate at which anticipated changes in industry capacity come online; fluctuations in raw material prices, quality and supply, and in energy prices and supply; production outages or material costs associated with scheduled or unscheduled maintenance programs; unanticipated developments that could occur with respect to contingencies such as litigation and environmental matters; an inability to raise or sustain prices for products or services; an ability to achieve or delays in achieving or achievement of less than the anticipated financial benefit from initiatives related to acquisitions and integration, working capital reductions, costs reductions and employee productivity goals; information systems failures and cyberattacks; and other factors affecting our business beyond our control, including, without limitation, changes in the general economy, changes in interest rates and changes in the rate of inflation. The above list of factors is not exhaustive.

We undertake no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are advised to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our reports on Form 10-Q, 8-K and 10-K that we provide to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Non-GAAP Reconciliation

The Company does not provide reconciliations of forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures, such as outlook for adjusted earnings per share, to the most comparable GAAP financial measures on a forward-looking basis because the Company is unable to provide a meaningful or accurate calculation or estimation of reconciling items and the information is not available without unreasonable effort. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing and amount of certain items, such as, but not limited to, restructuring costs, environmental remediation costs, acquisition-related costs, and other non-routine costs. Each of such adjustments has not yet occurred, are out of the Company's control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, the Company is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information.

 

To access PolyOne's news library online, please visit www.avient.com/news.

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SOURCE PolyOne Corporation

Investor Relations Contact: Joe Di Salvo, Vice President, Treasurer and Investor Relations, PolyOne Corporation, +1 440-930-1921, giuseppe.disalvo@avient.com; Media Contact: Kyle G. Rose, Vice President, Corporate Communications, PolyOne Corporation, +1 440-930-3162, kyle.rose@avient.com