By Adriano Marchese

Dow shares fell 6.3% Thursday after the company reported lower-than-expected revenue and adjusted earnings in the fourth quarter and disclosed layoffs to save costs.

Shares traded 6.4% lower at $38.44.

The materials science company reported lower sales of $10.41 billion, down from $10.62 billion in the prior-year period, and below analyst expectations of $10.51 billion, according to FactSet.

Dow noted that its Packaging and Specialty Plastics segment saw sales fall by 6% to $5.3 billion due to lower functional polymers and polyethylene prices in the period.

The company's fourth-quarter loss narrowed to $53 million, or 8 cents a share, from a loss of $105 million, or 15 cents a share, while operating earnings, an adjusted figure, came to zero a share. According to FactSet, analysts were expecting adjusted earnings of 24 cents a share.

Dow is also planning a round of layoffs, targeting 1,500 job cuts to reduce its labor cost burden globally. The layoffs also come with aims to reduce direct costs by $500 million to $700 million by focusing on purchased services and third-party contract labor.

The company expects a charge of $250 million to $325 million in the first quarter primarily to pay out severance and related benefit costs.

Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 30, 2025 11:54 ET (16:54 GMT)

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