Despite the difficult market conditions that Orbia navigated over the last year, Orbia’s leadership noted in the recent 2024 earnings call that they believe that the markets have reached the bottom of the cycle and the business is positioned well to grow with market recovery. Following the earnings call, Orbia CFO Jim Kelly met with CFO Dive to dig deeper into the company’s cost optimization program and strategic growth investments.
“Orbia has already realized $104 million in cost reductions last year, well above the $85 million we had anticipated for the period. Our cost reduction plan is going well – we’re on track for what we’ve communicated that the external markets should expect from us, which is important.”
- Jim Kelly, Chief Financial Officer, Orbia
Throughout the conversation, Jim emphasized that while the company is focusing intently on cost reduction, leadership hasn't lost sight of making investments in growth opportunities for the long term.
For example, Orbia's Fluor & Energy Materials business plays a critical role in securing the North American supply chain for fluorinated battery materials through EVs, energy storage and semiconductors. Fluor & Energy Materials recently launched a custom electrolyte offering which optimizes the safety and performance of lithium-ion batteries for consumer electronics, energy storage and the U.S. military/national defense applications.
Orbia also continues to invest in next generation refrigerant gasses and medical propellants, both of which have significant beneficial impacts to climate change. For example, Orbia has planned construction of a large-scale medical propellant purification plant in the U.K. to support the pharmaceutical industry’s sustainability transition.
Outside of our Fluor & Energy Materials business, Orbia has plans to invest in capacity expansion projects for Connectivity Solutions and Polymer Solutions and in new products and a footprint expansion in Building & Infrastructure and Precision Agriculture.
Read the original article on CFO Dive here.