Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

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Operator: Thank you. And we have a question from Vincent Anderson from Stifel. Your line is open.

Vincent Anderson: Yes, good morning. So, you mentioned strong personal protection demand in Dyneema out of the gate. Can you just refresh our memory on the order patterns for that business, and so far as what you saw in 4Q might be helping you derisk your 2023 outlook there?

Bob Patterson: Yes. I mean, look, some of our businesses do have a seasonal pattern to them. And I don’t know that, that necessarily applies to — historically what we’ve seen for personal protection, I think that is sort of demand agnostic, if you will, across the quarters, it’s probably not the right word, but I don’t really think there’s a seasonal element to that. I do think that there are trends that are resulting in higher levels of personal protection gear, particularly with respect to the military. And war in Ukraine, for example, many countries have been stepping up the level of investment that they’re making in their own defense applications, and we are really just starting to see that, I think, in the fourth quarter.

In fact, as we were discussing Dyneema through the course of the year, there was some potential that, that might have started to happen earlier. It didn’t. But I think maybe Q4, we started to see a little bit of that, and that has got upside potential for us in ’23.

Vincent Anderson: Understood. Thank you. That’s helpful. And then, going back through your health care exposure, between COVID-related demand, all while integrating Clariant, I know you mentioned elective care as a potential headwind this year. But can you step back and maybe break down your exposure to health care a bit more between what you would view as the more defensive parts of that portfolio and what specifically would be more exposed to household spending power?

Bob Patterson: Yes. I couldn’t actually break the portfolio down for you by elective versus non-elective. And really, it’s actually hard for us to even determine where things go. But for the most part, we are in medical devices, drug delivery devices, minimally evasive catheters and applications like that, as well as some pharma and pharma-related packaging, right, which is with respect to health care. So, I do think that there is a fair amount of that, that is exposed to discretionary spending. So, not necessarily just elective procedures, but also the amount of money that people are willing to spend on — related to health care, almost personal care type items. So, right now, I’m kind of viewing that as a potential challenge for ’23. That’s what we’ve actually built into the model. I don’t think it looks like it did in 2020 when people just flat out didn’t go anywhere. But I think it’s a possible challenge for ’23.

Vincent Anderson: Okay. Understood. Thank you.

Bob Patterson: Okay. That was our last question. We appreciate everyone’s time and attention this morning, and look forward to updating you on our next call following our first quarter. Thank you. Take care, everyone.

Operator: This concludes today’s conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

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