Midland-based Dow Chemical Co. today reported $48.8 billion in sales in 2015, down 16 percent compared to 2014, while earnings rose to $13.3 billion.
Andrew Liveris, chairman and CEO of Dow, says the company reported full-year earnings of per share of $6.15, compared to $2.87 in 2014. He says Dow returned $4.6 billion to shareholders through paid dividends and share repurchases in 2015. Dow reported return on capital of nearly 20 percent.
Liveris says Dow delivered $7.5 billion of cash flow from operations in 2015, the third consecutive year of record cash flow.
The company reported a decline in R&D activities and selling, general, and administrative expenses of $184 million, down 4 percent compared to 2014 due to divestitures as well as the acquisition of Univation Technologies LLC.
In 2015, Dow announced it planned to acquire the remaining stake in its joint venture called Dow Corning, a developer of silicon-based products for the automotive and aerospace industries, among others. In October, Dow sold off a large portion of its chlorine value chain and merged the new entity with Olin Corp.
“Looking ahead, 2016 is primed to be another significant year for Dow,” Liveris says. “Our teams are moving swiftly to deliver the Dow-DuPont merger benefits to our shareholders. We will also realize strong synergies and benefits from the Dow Corning Silicones business, and continue to ramp up our many strategic initiatives.”
In related news, Dow today announced the appointment of James (Jim) R. Fitterling to the position of president and COO. Fitterling, who has worked with Dow for more than 30 years, previously held the position of vice chairman and COO. In his new role, he will continue to have executive accountability for all of Dow’s businesses excluding Dow AgroSciences. He will also play a central role in helping drive the successful completion of the proposed Dow-DuPont merger and subsequent establishment of its three independent public companies.
