Cabot Corp Reports Fourth Quarter Results

Key Highlights

• Fiscal Year 2023 Diluted EPS of $7.73 and Adjusted EPS of $5.38; record fiscal year Reinforcement Materials segment EBIT of $482 million
• Fiscal fourth quarter diluted EPS increased 150% year-over-year due to the partial release of a tax valuation allowance in the quarter
• Fourth quarter adjusted EPS increased 6% year-over-year driven by higher Reinforcement Materials segment EBIT
• Cash Flows from Operations of $138 million in the fiscal fourth quarter driven by strong Reinforcement Materials segment EBIT
• Returned cash to shareholders of $73 million in the quarter through $23 million in dividends and $50 million in share repurchases

Sean Keohane, Cabot President and Chief Executive Officer commented: “I am pleased that we were able to deliver adjusted EPS of $1.65 in the fourth quarter, which represents a 6% year-over-year improvement and the strongest quarter of our fiscal year 2023. We delivered adjusted EPS of $5.38 for fiscal year 2023 despite lower demand in key end markets, a weak environment in China, and significant levels of customer destocking. We proactively navigated a challenging macro-environment by implementing strict cost management measures and demonstrating strong commercial execution to sustain robust margins. I am also pleased with the strong cash performance in the fiscal year, where we generated $595 million in operating cash flow. We used this robust cash flow generation to maintain our assets, invest for growth and return cash to shareholders. We paid $88 million in dividends, including an 8% increase announced in May, and we repurchased $98 million of shares. We also made significant strides in our sustainability agenda with the launch of our EVOLVE® Sustainable Solutions technology platform during the year, which we believe presents an exciting opportunity to offer our customers sustainable reinforcing carbons and other materials to meet their needs for increased circularity.”

Keohane concluded, “In fiscal 2023, we continued to execute against our Creating for Tomorrow strategy and advanced a number of strategic initiatives. We believe the investments that we have made throughout the year have laid the foundation for advantaged growth in the future. I thank our dedicated team across the globe, as their collective efforts during the fiscal year enabled us to navigate through a weak macro-economic environment and emerge even more resilient.” …

Source: Cabot