Oct. 10 at 7:53 PM
S&P Global Ratings revised Westlake Corp.’s outlook from stable to negative due to weaker margins and lower performance in its Performance & Essential Materials segment. PEM EBITDA fell to
$112M in H1 2025 from over
$600M in H1 2024, driven by weaker demand, margin compression, and one-time company-specific factors. The company faced ~2% lower prices,
$183M higher energy and raw material costs, and ~
$200M in planned and unplanned shutdown costs, including major Petro-1 ethylene plant upgrades and new vinyl chloride monomer capacity in Geismar. S&P expects PEM margins to remain under pressure through 2026 but notes potential
$400M+ EBITDA gains from lower maintenance costs,
$150–175M structural cost reductions, and the Pernis epoxy plant closure (~
$100M annual savings).
$WLK