By Katherine Hamilton

Olin said its fourth quarter profit fell and that industry challenges in the industry will continue this year as falling demand is expected to drive down revenue across its business sectors.

The ammunition and chemicals manufacturer on Thursday posted a profit of $10.7 million, or 9 cents a share, compared with $52.9 million, or 43 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 3.5% to $1.67 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast revenue of $1.55 billion.

Full-year profit was $108.6 million, or 91 cents a share, down from $460.2 million, or $3.57 a share.

Olin anticipates results from its chemicals business to be down in the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter. It expects lower chlorine and caustic soda volumes, as well as pricing pressure on ethylene dichloride. Global epoxy demand remains weak, and Olin's U.S. and European epoxy businesses are challenged by subsidized Asian competition, Chief Executive Ken Lane said.

"We expect Olin's first quarter 2025 adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $150 million to $170 million, and we will continue Olin's disciplined capital allocation strategy to prioritize share repurchases from available cash flow," Lane said.

Earlier this month, Olin's company Winchester agreed to acquire the ammunition manufacturing assets of Ammo. The transaction is set to close in the second quarter, and Olin expects Winchester's first quarter results to be lower than they were in the fourth quarter.

In December, Olin said it was expanding its share repurchasing authorization to $2 billion, up from $700 million. During 2024, the company repurchased about 5% of outstanding shares, Lane said.

Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 30, 2025 16:59 ET (21:59 GMT)

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