Dow Chemical Company (DOW) has reported 98.56 percent plunge in profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2016. The company has earned $52 million, or $0.03 a share in the quarter, compared with $3,612 million, or $2.94 a share for the same period last year. On the other hand, adjusted net income for the quarter stood at $1,121 million, or $0.99 a share compared with $1,057 million or $0.93 a share, a year ago. Revenue during the quarter grew 13.59 percent to $13,020 million from $11,462 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter contracted 439 basis points over the previous year period to 18.79 percent. Total expenses were 93.47 percent of quarterly revenues, up from 62.80 percent for the same period last year. That has resulted in a contraction of 3067 basis points in operating margin to 6.53 percent.
Andrew Liveris, Dows chairman and chief executive officer, stated: "This was another strong quarter for our company, extending our streak of year-over-year earnings and volume growth - reaching 17 consecutive quarters of increases in operating EPS and 13 consecutive quarters of volume growth. We delivered record quarterly and full-year operating EBITDA and generated strong cash flow from operations of $1.9 billion in the quarter. And this year we returned nearly $3 billion to our owners through share repurchases and the highest annual dividend in our history.
Debt moves up
Dow Chemical Company has witnessed an increase in total debt over the last one year. It stood at $21,363 million as on Dec. 31, 2016, up 24.13 percent or $4,153 million from $17,210 million on Dec. 31, 2015. Total debt was 26.87 percent of total assets as on Dec. 31, 2016, compared with 25.30 percent on Dec. 31, 2015. Debt to equity ratio was at 0.78 as on Dec. 31, 2016, up from 0.66 as on Dec. 31, 2015. Interest coverage ratio deteriorated to 3.71 for the quarter from 17.77 for the same period last year. Disclaimer: Please note that this is an auto-generated article. IRIS does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information. IRIS especially states that it has no financial liability whatsoever to any user on account of the use of information provided on its website. For queries contact: editor@irisindia.net
