Aug. 7--The worldwide economic slowdown took its toll on Huntsman Corp. during the second quarter of this year. But the chemicals maker still reported a net income of $406 million, or $1.51 per share.

Huntsman's second-quarter earnings, though, were the result of a $531 million gain from a recent settlement paid by Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank to end claims that they promised, but balked at funding, a buyout of the company by New York-based Apollo Management.

"Obviously, for the second quarter, the settlement was the elephant in the room. But we also managed to generate an additional $165 million in cash," said Peter Huntsman, the company's chief executive.

The company is based in Salt Lake City and The Woodlands, Texas.

For the quarter, Huntsman reported a loss of $64 million from its continuing operations as its sales fell 36 percent to $1.87 billion.

In a conference call with industry analysts and investors early Thursday, J. Kimo Esplin, Huntsman's chief financial officer, noted that during the first half the company's revenue decreased in all regions and across all segments of its business.

Sales volumes declined 18 percent and the average selling price of Huntsman's products fell 22 percent.

But Esplin noted in that same conference call that Huntsman Corp. saw improvement in all of its business segments during the second quarter when compared to the first quarter of this year.

"Demand during the second

quarter increased in all regions of the world compared to the first quarter," Esplin said.

He pointed out that at the beginning of this year the company estimated that inventory levels throughout the industry were as high as 90 days, while at the end of the second quarter, they were down to approximately 50 days, which is more in line with the historical averages for the industry during this time of year.

Morningstar securities analyst Joung Park in a report released in late June said that while "near-term headwinds" in the chemicals sector will hinder Huntsman in restoring profitability, the company's strong suite of specialty chemicals will aid it in accomplishing that goal over the long term.

"Among Huntsman's suite of specialty chemicals, we especially like its polyurethane segment," Park wrote, noting that polyurethanes are used in foams, insulation and adhesives.

"We think that this segment has greater growth potential than most commodity chemicals, as the product is increasingly gaining market share as a light but effective insulator."

Huntsman is one of the world's largest producers of polyurethane products, he noted.

steve@sltrib.com

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