Ingevity Corporation NGVT recorded a fourth-quarter 2024 profit of $16.6 million or 46 cents per share. This compares favorably with a loss of $116.8 million, or $3.23 per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Excluding one-time items, adjusted earnings in the quarter were 95 cents per share. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 12 cents.

Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Revenues fell 19.6% year over year to $298.8 million in the quarter. The downside is attributable to the repositioning of the Performance Chemicals segment, which includes limiting exposure to specific low-margin end markets. The decline was partly offset by increased sales of Performance Materials and Advanced Polymer Technologies.

Ingevity Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Ingevity Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Ingevity Corporation Quote

NGVT’s Segmental Review

The Performance Chemicals division generated revenues of $98.7 million in the reported quarter, down around 44% year over year. Road Technologies' product line sales of $48.5 million were down 9.2% due to mild weather conditions extended into the paving season. Industrial Specialties product line sales of $50.2 million fell 59.2%, owing to the impact of the segment's repositioning measures, which are aimed at lowering exposure to lower-margin end markets and persistent deterioration in industrial demand. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the segment rose 84% to negative $3.8 million as a result of plant closures and cost savings initiatives.

Revenues in the Performance Materials unit rose around 2.2% year over year to $156.2 million. The upside was driven by volume growth in North America and China. Segment EBITDA was $78.3 million, down 0.3%, due to lower energy spending through operational improvements offset by reduced plant utilization.

Sales in the Advanced Polymer Technologies segment were up 3.5% to $43.9 million. The upside was due to higher volumes. Segment EBITDA was $6.1 million, down 23%, due to unfavorable price and mix, and higher energy costs. Higher volumes were offset by price concessions and an unfavorable product mix.

NGVT’s Financials

The fourth-quarter operating cash flow was $64.5 million, with free cash flow of $39.6 million, which included a termination fee of $50 million related to a long-term CTO supply contract. There were no share repurchases during the quarter, leaving $353.4 million remaining under the current $500 million authorization. Net leverage improved to 3.5x from the previous quarter’s 4x.

NGVT’s 2025 Outlook

NGVT's focus will be on enhancing shareholder value through improved EBITDA, improving margins and strong cash flows. The company is also committed to deleveraging to reduce the net leverage ratio below 2.8. It anticipates sales to be between $1.3 billion and $1.4 billion, with adjusted EBITDA in the range of $400-$415 million for 2025.

NGVT’s Stock Price Performance

Shares of Ingevity have lost 4.3% in a year compared with the industry’s 20.6% decline.

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NGVT’s Rank & Other Key Picks

NGVT currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Other top-ranked stocks worth considering in the basic materials space are ICL Group Ltd. ICL, Fortuna Mining Corp. FSM and Kronos Worldwide KRO.

ICL is slated to report fourth-quarter results on Feb. 26. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 6 cents per share. ICL beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 18.1%. ICL carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Fortuna is scheduled to release fourth-quarter results on March 5. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FSM’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 16 cents per share. FSM, a Zacks Rank #2 stock, has gained around 62.5% in the past year. FSM beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the last four quarters while missing twice, with the average earnings surprise being 53.5%.

Kronos is expected to report fourth-quarter results on March 5. The consensus estimate for KRO’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 11 cents per share. KRO, carrying a Zacks Rank #2, beat the consensus estimate in three of the last four quarters while missing once, with the average earnings surprise being 41.7%.


 

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