Illegal trade hits Chemours’ refrigerant sales

USA: The illegal refrigerant trade had a significant financial impact on Chemours in 2019, the company’s Fluoroproducts business reporting a 7% decline in sales to $2.6bn. 

In addition to the continued impact of illegal imports of HFC refrigerants into the EU, Chemours also blames weakness in the automotive and electronics markets. 

Lower cost from the production of R1234yf at its new Corpus Christi plant was said to be more than offset by impact of lower F-gas quota sales, operational issues and lower average price of refrigerants. These factors contributed to segment adjusted EBITDA of $578m in 2019 as compared to $783m in 2018.

Net sales for the group were $5.5bn versus $6.6bn in 2018.

“Our results for 2019 reflect a challenging year on several fronts, including TiO2 destocking, the continued impact of illegal imports of HFC refrigerants into Europe, and operational challenges, offset to some extent by record results in Chemical Solutions,” said president and CEO Mark Vergnano.