LyondellBasell Cuts Quarterly Dividend 50% to $0.69 Citing Industry Downturn
LyondellBasell's board cut its quarterly dividend to $0.69 per share from $1.37, payable March 9 to recalculate financial commitments during industry downturn. The company reported a Q4 adjusted loss of $0.26 per share on $7.091 billion in sales, beating the $6.799 billion consensus but down from $7.808 billion a year earlier.
1. Dividend Reduction Details
LyondellBasell’s board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share, down 50% from $1.37, payable March 9 to shareholders of record on March 2, aiming to align payouts with free cash flow targets during one of the longest chemical industry downturns.
2. Q4 Financial Results
In the fourth quarter, LyondellBasell reported an adjusted loss of $0.26 per share on $7.091 billion in sales, surpassing consensus of $6.799 billion but falling from $7.808 billion a year earlier, as global trade disruptions and added capacity weighed on volumes.
3. Market Reaction and Technical Indicators
Shares fell over 1% in premarket trading, trading 1.4% above their 20-day and 15% above their 100-day SMAs, with a neutral RSI at 57.24 and bearish MACD suggesting mixed momentum and caution among traders.
4. Outlook and Analyst Expectations
LYB expects to return 70% of free cash flow to shareholders over the cycle and provided Q1 EPS estimates of $0.25 on revenue of $7.28 billion, while analysts maintain a Hold consensus with an average target of $55.14.