UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

☒ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES

EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended: December 31, 2018

◻TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES

EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from                      to                      

Commission File Number: 001-36473

Trinseo S.A.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

1000 Chesterbrook Boulevard, Suite 300

Berwyn, PA 19312

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

(610) 240-3200

(Registrant’s telephone number)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ☒    No  ◻ 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    Yes  ◻    No  ☒ 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  ☒    No  ◻ 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes  ☒    No  ◻ 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  ☒ 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ◻

Indicate by check mark whether the Company is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ◻    No  ☒ 

As of February 25, 2019, there were 41,289,829 shares of the registrant’s ordinary shares outstanding.

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting shares of the registrant held by non-affiliates of Trinseo S.A. computed by reference to the closing price of the registrant’s common shares on the New York Stock Exchange as of June 30, 2018 was approximately $3,038,601,050.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

Portions of the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for the 2018 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A not later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Form 10-K are incorporated by reference in Part III, Items 10-14 of this Form 10-K.

 

 

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This annual report on Form 10-K (“Annual Report”) contains forward-looking statements including, without limitation, statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, projections, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are not statements of historical facts. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words like “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “forecast,” “see,” “outlook,” “will,” “may,” “might,” “potential,” “likely,” “target,” “plan,” “contemplate,” “seek,” “attempt,” “should,” “could,” “would” or expressions of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements reflect management’s evaluation of information currently available and are based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding our business, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Specific factors that may impact performance or other predictions of future actions have, in many but not all cases, been identified in connection with specific forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. They are neither statements of historical fact nor guarantees or assurances of future performance. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory conditions and the following:

We derive many of our forward-looking statements from our operating budgets and forecasts, which are based upon many detailed assumptions. While we believe that our assumptions are reasonable, we caution that it is very difficult to predict the impact of known factors, and, it is impossible for us to anticipate all factors that could affect our actual results. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations, or cautionary statements, are disclosed under the sections entitled “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” in this Annual Report. All written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us, or persons acting on our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements as well as other cautionary statements that are made from time to time in our other public communications. You should evaluate all forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report in the context of these risks and uncertainties.

We caution you that the important factors referenced above may not contain all of the factors that are important to you. In addition, we cannot assure you that we will realize the results or developments we expect or anticipate or, even if substantially realized, that they will result in the consequences or affect us or our operations in the way we expect. The forward-looking statements included in this Annual Report are made only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trinseo S.A.

Form 10-K Annual Report

For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2018

Unless otherwise indicated or required by context, as used in this Annual Report, the term “Trinseo” refers to Trinseo S.A. (NYSE: TSE), a public limited liability company (société anonyme) existing under the laws of Luxembourg, and not its subsidiaries. The terms “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Trinseo and its consolidated subsidiaries, taken as a consolidated entity and as required by context, may also include our business as owned by our predecessor, The Dow Chemical Company, for any dates prior to June 17, 2010. All financial data provided in this Annual Report is the financial data of the Company, unless otherwise indicated.

Prior to our formation, our business was wholly owned by The Dow Chemical Company, which we refer to as, together with its affiliates, “Dow.” We refer to our predecessor business as “the Styron business.” On June 17, 2010, investment funds advised or managed by affiliates of Bain Capital Partners, LP (“Bain Capital”) acquired Dow Europe Holding B.V. and the Styron business. We refer to our acquisition by Bain Capital as the “Acquisition.” During 2016, Bain Capital Everest Manager Holding SCA (the “former Parent”), an affiliate of Bain Capital, divested its entire ownership in the Company in a series of secondary offerings to the market.

The Company may distribute cash to shareholders under Luxembourg law via repayments of equity or an allocation of statutory profits. Since the Company began paying dividends, all distributions have been considered repayments of equity under Luxembourg law.

Definitions of capitalized terms not defined herein appear in the notes to our consolidated financial statements. Specifically, refer to Note 11 in the consolidated financial statements for definitions of the Company’s debt facilities.

 

 

PART I

Item 1.    Business

Business

The Company

Trinseo S.A. (NYSE: TSE) is a public limited liability company (société anonyme) formed in 2010 and existing under the laws of Luxembourg. Prior to our formation, our business was wholly owned by Dow. On June 17, 2010, investment funds advised or managed by affiliates of Bain Capital acquired our business and Dow Europe Holding B.V. During 2016, Bain Capital divested its entire ownership in the Company in a series of secondary offerings to the market.

We are a leading global materials company engaged in the manufacture and marketing of synthetic rubber, latex binders, and plastics, including various specialty and technologically differentiated products. We have leading market positions in many of the markets in which we compete. Our products are incorporated into a wide range of our customers’ products throughout the world, including tires and other products for automotive applications, carpet and artificial turf backing, coated paper, specialty paper and packaging board, food packaging, appliances, medical devices, consumer electronics and construction applications, among others. We have long-standing relationships with a diverse base of global customers, many of whom are leaders in their markets and rely on us for formulation, technological differentiation, and compounding expertise to find sustainable solutions for their businesses. Many of our products represent only a small portion of a finished product’s production costs, but provide critical functionality to the finished product and are often specifically developed to customer specifications. Therefore, we seek to regularly develop new and improved products and processes, supported by our intellectual property portfolio, designed to enhance our customers’ product offerings. We believe these product traits result in substantial customer loyalty.

We have significant manufacturing and production operations around the world, which allow us to serve our global customer base. As of December 31, 2018, our production facilities included 30 manufacturing plants (which included a total of 75 production units) at 23 sites across 12 countries, including the Company’s joint venture. Additionally, as of December 31, 2018, we operated 10 research and development (“R&D”) facilities globally, including technology and innovation development centers and pilot plants and coaters, which we believe are critical to our global presence and innovation capabilities. Our significant global operations also provide diversity in the end markets for our products. 

 

          

 

Our Strategy

We believe that there are significant opportunities to improve our business globally and enhance our position as a leading global materials company engaged in the manufacture and marketing of standard, specialty and technologically differentiated emulsion polymers and plastics. The Company’s business strategy is to grow both organically and through the pursuit of strategic acquisitions and joint ventures that have attractive risk-adjusted returns that extend our leadership positions in attractive markets and geographies, while also achieving cost efficiencies across our businesses and making strategic divestures or closures of non-performing businesses and geographies. The Company’s organic growth will be developed through strategic capital investments to extend our leadership position in select market segments and by innovation that provides technological differentiation to our customers who seek our technological and development capabilities to create specialty grades, new and sustainable products, and technologically differentiated formulations.

In order to support the Company’s strategic growth, we remain committed to maintaining a strong financial position with appropriate financial flexibility and liquidity. The Company employs a disciplined approach to capital allocation and deployment of cash that strives to balance the growth of our business and continued cash generation while providing attractive returns to our shareholders. For 2018, this included increasing our quarterly dividend to shareholders by more than 10% in June 2018, from $0.36 to $0.40 per share, and using $142.9 million in cash to repurchase approximately 2.2 million ordinary shares, about 5% of our ordinary shares outstanding at the beginning of the year.

The priorities for uses of available cash include the servicing of our debt, the continued return of capital to our shareholders via quarterly dividends, the repurchase of our ordinary shares, and the funding of targeted growth initiatives. Management believes that strong cash flow generation, continued profitability, and spending discipline are critical to providing the Company with the ongoing flexibility to pursue our business strategy.

For more information regarding our strategic highlights see Item 7 – Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – 2018 Highlights.

Business Segments

Through December 31, 2017, the Company operated under six reporting segments: Latex Binders, Synthetic Rubber, Performance Plastics, Basic Plastics, Feedstocks, and Americas Styrenics. Effective January 1, 2018, the Company realigned our reporting segments to reflect the new model under which the business is being managed and results are being reviewed by the Chief Executive Officer, who is the Company’s chief operating decision maker.

Under this new segmentation, we present operating results for six segments, four of which remain unchanged from the Company’s prior segmentation: Latex Binders, Synthetic Rubber, Feedstocks, and Americas Styrenics. The results of our Polystyrene business, which were previously included within the Basic Plastics segment, are now reported as a stand-alone segment. Performance Plastics, which previously consisted of compounds, blends, and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (“ABS”) products sold to the automotive market, now includes the remaining portion of our ABS business, as well as the results of our styrene-acrylonitrile (“SAN”) and polycarbonate (“PC”) businesses. This segmentation change provides enhanced clarity to investors by concentrating the Company’s more specialized plastics into a single reporting segment, while also reducing complexity as PC and ABS are the primary inputs into the downstream production of our compounds and blends.

Prior period financial information included within this Annual Report has been recast from its previous presentation to reflect the Company’s new organizational structure.

Refer to Note 19 in the consolidated financial statements for information regarding sales and Adjusted EBITDA by segment, which is the performance metric used by management to evaluate our segments’ performance, as well as sales and long-lived assets by geographic area.

Latex Binders Segment

Overview

We are a global leader in styrene-butadiene latex (“SB latex”), holding a strong market position across the geographies and applications in which we compete, including the #2 position in SB latex capacity in Europe and the #1 position in capacity in North America. In 2018, approximately 43% of our Latex Binders segment’s sales were generated in Europe, 27% were generated in the United States, and the majority of the remaining net sales were generated in Asia.

Products and End Uses

We hold the #1 position for supplying SB latex for the coated paper market globally. SB latex is widely used as a binder for mineral pigments as it allows high coating speeds, improved smoothness, higher gloss level, opacity and water resistance that is valued in the product’s end use in advertising, magazines, and packaging board coatings.

We are also a leading supplier of latex binders to the carpet and artificial turf industries and offer a diverse range of products for use in residential and commercial broadloom, needlefelt, and woven carpet backings. We produce high solids SB latex, styrene-acrylate latex (“SA latex”), vinylidene chloride, and butadiene-methacrylate latex products for the commercial and niche carpet markets. SB latex is also used in flooring as an adhesive for carpet and artificial turf fibers.

We also offer a broad range of performance latex products, including SB latex, SA latex, and vinylidene chloride latex primarily for the adhesive, building and construction as well as the technical textile paper market, and have begun to implement the use of starch and associated new chemistries in paper coatings and carpet backing.

Competition and Customers

Our principal competitors in our Latex Binders segment include BASF Group, Omnova Solutions Inc., and Synthomer plc. In this segment, we compete primarily based on our ability to offer differentiated and reliable products, the quality of our customer service and the length and depth of our relationships. We also believe our growth prospects could be enhanced if the recent trend of industry capacity reduction and consolidation continues.

We believe our Latex Binders segment is able to differentiate itself by offering customers value-added formulation and product development expertise. Our R&D team and Technical Services and Development (“TS&D”) team are able to use our two pilot coating facilities in Switzerland and the United States, three paper fabrication and testing labs in China, Switzerland and the United States, three carpet technology centers located near carpet producers in China, the United States and Switzerland, and two product development and process research centers, one each in Germany and the United States, to assist customers in designing new products and enhancing the manufacturing process. Many of our major customers rely on our dedicated R&D and TS&D teams to complement their limited in-house resources for formulation and reformulation tests and trials. We believe that this capability allows us to capture new business, strengthen our existing customer relationships and broaden our technological expertise.

Additionally, our global manufacturing capabilities are key in serving customers cost-effectively, as latex binders are costly to ship over long distances due to their high water content. We believe that our global network of service and manufacturing facilities is highly valued by our customers. We seek to capture the value of our R&D and TS&D services and manufacturing capabilities through our pricing strategy. In 2018, we estimate that more than half of net sales in this segment related to contracts that include raw material pass-through clauses.

Seasonality

Reporting periods impacted by the winter season and unfavorable weather conditions that typically affect the construction and building materials end markets may result in seasonally lower performance in our Latex Binders segment.

Synthetic Rubber Segment

Overview

We are a significant producer of styrene-butadiene and polybutadiene-based rubber products and we have a leading European market position, providing approximately 52% of Western Europe’s solution styrene butadiene rubber (“SSBR”) capacity available for sale. While substantially all of our net sales were generated in Europe in 2018, approximately 21% of these net sales were exported to Asia, 12% to North America, and 5% to Latin America.

Products and End Uses

Our Synthetic Rubber segment produces synthetic rubber products used in high-performance tires, impact modifiers and technical rubber products, such as conveyor belts, hoses, seals and gaskets. We participate significantly in the European synthetic rubber industry, where tire producers focus on high-performance and ultra high-performance tires

and rely heavily on their rubber suppliers. This is in contrast to North America, where tire manufacturers produce most of their required rubber. We have a broad synthetic rubber technology and product portfolio, focusing on specialty products, such as SSBR, while also producing core products, such as emulsion styrene-butadiene rubber (“ESBR”). Our synthetic rubber products are extensively used in tires, with approximately 88% of our net sales from this segment in 2018 attributable to the tire market. We have strong relationships with many of the top global tire manufacturers and believe we have remained a supplier of choice as a result of our broad rubber portfolio and ability to offer technologically differentiated product and product customization capabilities. Other applications for our synthetic rubber products include polymer modification and technical rubber goods.

SSBR.  We sell SSBR products for high-performance and ultra high-performance tire applications. We produce both clear and oil extended SSBR through batch polymerization in our four SSBR production lines. We believe these processes provide leading and technologically differentiated solutions to tire manufacturers.

During the last several years, we have been working closely with major tire producers around the world to develop multiple new SSBR grades, addressing key marketplace needs for improved tire fuel economy, grip, and abrasion characteristics, which we believe will lead to significant demand growth for our rubber products in Europe and around the world. We expect our synthetic rubber product mix to continue to shift to more advanced SSBR grades (noting approximately 12% of our total Synthetic Rubber segment volume sold in 2012, compared to 34% in 2018) in order to meet this shift in product demand. In 2018, SSBR represented approximately 60% of total segment net sales.

Performance tires represent an especially attractive market to rubber producers because they provide substantial value to end customers. In fact, the market for performance tires is expected to grow at a rate of 6-8% in 2019, which is approximately two to three times that of the total tire market. Tire manufacturers are expected to continually seek improvements in advanced rubber, which optimizes the combination of fuel economy and wet grip in order to meet EU regulations which set minimum requirements and are being phased in through 2020. Other jurisdictions have adopted or are considering similar legislation and are also beginning to adopt the tire labeling requirements that have become mandatory in Europe. We believe our growth prospects are enhanced by increasing demand for high-performance tires, which as a result of regulatory reforms aimed at improving fuel efficiency and reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the EU, Japan, and Korea, are now more commonly used by automakers as original equipment manufacturer specified tires in their vehicles.

ESBR.  Our ESBR products are used in standard tires, technical goods, and footwear. Our ESBR product portfolio offers tire producers a comprehensive suite of synthetic rubber capabilities. For example, ESBR provides enhanced wet grip to tire treads and strength to the inner liner of tires, allowing the tires to be more easily processed. In 2018, ESBR represented approximately 33% of total segment net sales.

Ni-PBR and Nd-PBR.  In November 2015, we completed the conversion of our nickel polybutadiene rubber (“Ni-PBR”) production capacity at our Schkopau, Germany facility to a swing line, allowing for the production of both Ni-PBR and neodymium polybutadiene rubber (“Nd-PBR”). We sell Ni-PBR products for use in standard tires, performance tires, technical goods, and footwear. Nd-PBR is a key material in the latest generation of performance tires, and is also sold for use in industrial rubber goods and polymer modification. In 2018, Ni-PBR and Nd-PBR represented in aggregate approximately 7% of total segment net sales.

Competition and Customers

Our principal competitors in our Synthetic Rubber segment include Asahi Kasei Corporation, JSR Corporation, ARLANXEO, Zeon Corporation, Kumho Petrochemical Co., Ltd., PetroChina Company Limited, Reliance Rubber Industries, Sinopec Corp., Versalis S.p.A and Synthos S.A. In our Synthetic Rubber segment, we compete primarily based on our ability to offer differentiated and reliable products, the quality of our customer service and the length and depth of our relationships. We maintain deep and long-standing relationships with a large number of multinational customers, including many of the top global tire manufacturers, as well as fast growing Asian tire manufacturers. Our relationships with our top customers, including with our predecessor business operated by Dow prior to the Acquisition (as defined in Note 1 in the consolidated financial statements), range from 10 to more than 20 years. In 2018, our top three customers in this segment accounted for 56% of segment net sales. The loss of one or more of these customers could have a material adverse effect on the performance of the Synthetic Rubber segment.

We believe that we are a supplier of choice to our customers, given our broad rubber portfolio, including technologically differentiated grades, and our product customization capabilities. Our R&D and TS&D teams use our

broad rubber portfolio to develop differentiated specialty products for customers. Once implemented with a customer, these newly-developed specialty products cannot be easily replaced with a competitor’s product. As a result, we believe customers are likely to buy from us throughout the life cycle of specific tire models to avoid high switching costs and prevent repetition of the expensive development process.

Enhanced SSBR, which includes later generations of SSBR and functionalized SSBR and is used in the new generation of performance tires, is expected to approach 50% of the total SSBR market by 2019. We believe the Company is well-positioned to capture additional market share in the high-growth, high-performance tire application markets. We expect that demand for enhanced SSBR will grow at a rate in excess of supply, resulting in an expected increase in industry utilization rates over the next five years.  

In order to address this anticipated demand, the Company has added 125 kilotons (“KT”) of SSBR capacity since 2012, including additional SSBR capacity that came online in January 2018 at our Schkopau, Germany facility. In 2018, the Company also opened a new SSBR rubber pilot plant that allows us to expedite the product development process from lab sample to commercialization by delivering sufficient quantities of new formulations without the need to interrupt production in our industrial lines.

While we export our rubber products worldwide, our production facilities currently are solely in Europe.  Therefore, we may face competitive challenges with customers who would prefer local manufacturers. In 2018, we estimate that approximately three quarters of net sales in this segment related to contracts that include raw material pass-through clauses.

Seasonality

Our Synthetic Rubber segment experiences some seasonality with its highest period of demand typically occurring during the first quarter of the year as inventories are built ahead of the summer season. The lowest period of demand normally occurs during the third quarter of the year due to the summer holidays.

Performance Plastics Segment

Overview

Our Performance Plastics segment consists of a variety of compounds and blends, and also includes our ABS, SAN, and PC businesses. We are a producer of highly engineered compounds and blends for automotive end markets, as well as consumer electronics, medical, electrical, lighting, building and construction, and appliances. Additionally this segment includes the results of API Applicazioni Plastiche Industriali S.p.A. (“API Plastics”), a manufacturer of soft-touch polymers and bioplastics, such as thermoplastic elastomers (“TPEs”), which we acquired in July 2017. In 2018, approximately 59% of our Performance Plastics segment’s net sales were generated in Europe, approximately 21% were generated in the United States, and approximately 14% were generated in Asia, with the remainder in other geographic areas, including Mexico and Canada.

Products and End Uses

Our Performance Plastics segment consists of compounds and blends and some specialized ABS grades; SAN; PC; polypropylene; and thermoplastic elastomers.

Copolymers. Our copolymers products consist of ABS and SAN. In 2018, copolymers represented approximately 47% of total segment net sales.

We are a leading producer of ABS in Europe and are one of the few producers with a presence in North America. We produce mass ABS (“mABS”), a variation of ABS that has lower conversion and capital costs compared to the more common emulsion ABS (“eABS”) process, marketed under our MAGNUM™ brand. mABS has similar properties to eABS but has greater colorability, thermal stability and lower gloss. mABS products can be manufactured to stricter specifications because they are produced in a continuous process as opposed to the batch process used in eABS. mABS also has environmental benefits such as waste reduction and higher yields. In addition to our own mABS production capacity, we have licensed our proprietary mABS technology to other producers. During the fourth quarter of 2017, the Company announced the successful start-up of a MAGNUM™ ABS production line at our manufacturing plant at the Zhangjiagang, China site, which added additional regional production capabilities in order to meet customer needs for MAGNUM™ ABS in the Asia Pacific automotive, appliance, electronics, lighting and consumer goods markets.

Primary end uses for our ABS products include automotive and construction sheet applications. We maintain a significant share of ABS sales into these markets, which we believe is due to the differentiating attributes of our mABS products, our reputation as a knowledgeable supplier, our broad product mix and our customer collaboration and design capabilities.

SAN is composed of styrene and acrylonitrile, which together provide clarity, stiffness, enhanced ability to be processed, mechanical strength, barrier properties, chemical resistance and heat resistance. SAN is used mainly in appliances, consumer goods and construction sheets, due to its low-cost, clarity and chemical resistance properties.

PC & Compounding. Our PC & Compounding products consist of PC/ABS compounds, PC blends, and PC and polypropylene blends. In 2018, PC & Compounding represented approximately 49% of total segment net sales.

PC has high levels of clarity, impact resistance and temperature resistance. PC can be used in its neat form (prior to any compounding or blending) for markets such as construction sheet, optical media and LED lighting. Additionally, PC can be compounded or blended with other polymers, such as ABS, which imparts specific performance attributes tailored to the product’s end-use.

Our products for glazing and construction sheets are marketed under the CALIBRE™ brand name and offer customers a combination of clarity, heat resistance and impact performance. Glazing and construction sheet represents our largest PC application, and is a key growth focus for us. Key end-markets include the construction industry, with additional opportunities for growth with compounded products in the medical device market, consumer electronics and other applications such as smart meter casings that require plastics with enhanced weatherability, ignition resistance and impact performance.

We have a significant position in PC/ABS blends, which combine the heat resistance and impact strength of PC with the easy-to-process qualities and resilience of ABS. Our Performance Plastics segment also compounds and blends our PC and ABS plastics into differentiated products for customers, as well as compounds of polypropylene. We have also developed compounds containing post-consumer recycled polymers to respond to what we believe is a growing need for some customers to include recycled content in their products. We believe our ability to offer technologically differentiated products to meet customer needs sets us apart from our competitors, and with our history as a leading innovator in compounds and blends, we have established ourselves as a leading supplier of PC-based products.

For the automotive industry, we manufacture PC/ABS blends under the PULSE™ brand, and we innovate collaboratively with our customers to develop performance solutions to meet the industry’s needs, such as reducing the weight of vehicles. As a result, we are a key supplier of these products to leading automotive companies in North America and Europe, who tend to specify these products on a per car program platform basis, making it difficult to be displaced as a supplier once selected and providing us with relatively stable and predictable cash flows for several years during the production lifecycle. We are also accelerating our development of similar supply capabilities in additional geographies, like China.

For the consumer electronics, electrical and lighting and medical device industries, we manufacture our products under the EMERGE™ brand, among others, and we believe that we have growth opportunities in tablets, notebooks, smart phones and other handheld devices, and electrical and lighting and medical device components. In serving these markets, we leverage our polymer and compound technologies to meet increasingly stringent performance requirements along with the aesthetic and color-matching requirements which are crucial characteristics for the products involved.

API Plastics. Through our acquisition of API Plastics in 2017, we have added TPEs and other soft polymers to our product offerings for the automotive industry. In 2018, API Plastics represented approximately 4% of total segment net sales.

Competition and Customers

Our principal competitors in our Performance Plastics segment are Covestro AG, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, Borealis AG, Celanese Corporation, Shanghai Kumho Sunny Plastics Co., Ltd., Shanghai Pret Composites Co. Ltd., INEOS Styrolution, Lotte Chemical Corporation, and LyondellBasell. In our Performance Plastics segment, we compete primarily based on our ability to offer differentiated and reliable products, the quality of our customer service and the length and depth of our customer relationships.

We believe potential growth in the Performance Plastic segment will be impacted by a number of factors, including consumer preference for lighter weight and impact-resistant products and the development of new consumer

electronics and continuing growth in medical device applications. Additionally, we believe growth prospects are bolstered by sustainability trends, such as the substitution of lighter-weight plastics for metal in automobiles. Therefore, we believe our history of innovation and our focus on differentiated products enhances our growth prospects in this segment. Our innovation has contributed to long-standing relationships with customers who are recognized leaders in their respective end-markets. We also believe our global facilities are a competitive advantage that allows us to provide customers with consistent grades across markets and positions us to strategically serve emerging markets.

However, for PC, we have a lower competitive position than our peers, which may ultimately impact our ability to implement an effective pricing strategy. Of all the styrene derivative products, ABS has the highest projected growth rate over the next five years, which is expected to outpace supply, resulting in increasing operating rates.

Seasonality

Reporting periods impacted by the winter season and unfavorable weather conditions that typically affect the construction and building materials end markets may result in seasonally lower performance in our Performance Plastics segment.

Polystyrene Segment

Overview

We are a leading producer of polystyrene and focus on sales to injection molding and thermoforming customers. We do not anticipate investing in strategic growth initiatives in this segment in the near term. In 2018, approximately 60% of net sales from our Polystyrene segment were generated in Europe and 40% of net sales were generated in Asia.

Products and End Uses

Our product offerings include a variety of general purpose polystyrenes (“GPPS”) and high impact polystyrene (“HIPS”), which is polystyrene that has been modified with polybutadiene rubber to increase its impact resistant properties. These products provide customers with performance and aesthetics at a low cost across applications, including appliances, packaging, including food packaging and food service disposables, consumer electronics and building and construction materials.

We believe our STYRON™ brand is one of the longest established brands in the industry and is widely recognized in the global marketplace. We believe our R&D capabilities provide valuable, differentiated solutions for our customers, making us well-positioned to address the sustainability, weight reduction, and safety needs.

Competition and Customers

Our principal competitors in our Polystyrene segment are INEOS Styrolution, Versalis S.p.A., Total S.p.A., Covestro AG, LG Chem Ltd., Elix Polymers, Sinopec Corp., Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp., and Chi Mei Corporation. In this segment, we compete primarily based on our ability to offer reliable products as well as the quality of our customer service and the length and depth of our relationships.  

Our customer-centric model focuses on understanding customers’ needs and developing tailored relationships that add an additional value over the value of the actual product performance. For durable applications, we focus our TS&D, R&D and marketing teams on product design engineering initiatives for developing and specifying plastics in the next generation of construction applications, and appliances. In non-durable applications, we focus on innovative products that provide clear cost advantages to our customers, serving customers with our cost-advantaged technology and operating excellence. We have leveraged industry-leading product development and technology capabilities in many of our product lines in this segment to develop long-standing customer relationships with many of our customers, including a number who have purchased from us, including our predecessor business operated by Dow for more than 20 years. We believe that our asset footprint is an advantage, allowing us to provide customers with consistent product grades and positioning us to strategically serve growth economies.  

Seasonality

Due to the geographic diversity of the Company’s customers and end-markets for our polystyrene products across the globe, our Polystyrene segment does not typically experience material levels of seasonality. However, sales volumes

may fluctuate from quarter to quarter as customers may adjust their purchase patterns based on their expectations of polystyrene price changes.

Feedstocks Segment

Overview

Our Feedstocks segment is primarily focused on the revenue and profitability related to the Company’s production and procurement of styrene monomer outside of North America. The Feedstocks segment supplied 15% of the styrene monomer capacity out of Europe in 2018. In 2019, the Company expects to produce approximately 700 KT of styrene in Western Europe and purchase approximately 60 KT of styrene in Asia on a raw material cost basis.

Products and End Uses

Styrene monomer is a basic building block of plastics and a key input to many of the Company’s products. Styrene monomer is a key raw material for the production of polystyrene, expandable polystyrene, SAN resins, SA latex, SB latex, ABS resins, unsaturated polyethylene resins, and styrene-butadiene rubber.  

Competition and Customers

Our principal competitors in our Feedstocks segment are: INEOS Styrolution, Versalis S.p.A., Total S.p.A., BASF SE, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, LyondellBasell, Repsol S.A., Sinopec Corp., and Royal Dutch Shell plc. The majority of styrene monomer produced within the Feedstocks segment is consumed by the Company in our own manufacturing activities.

Global styrene operating rates were approximately 89% in 2018 and we believe operating rates will increase through 2020 due to continued demand growth, an aging industry asset base, and limited new capacity. These relatively high operating rates can result in periods of elevated margins due to planned or unplanned production outages. Additional capacity is expected to come online which could lower operating rates early in the next decade, but there is uncertainty around the quantity and timing of future capacity expansions and the net impact of future potential capacity closures.

Seasonality

Our Feedstocks segment does not generally experience material levels of seasonality affecting sales volumes; however, there may be seasonal fluctuations in margin as planned supply outages generally occur more often in the spring and fall seasons.

Americas Styrenics Segment

Overview

This segment consists solely of the operations of our 50%-owned joint venture with Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, Americas Styrenics LLC (“Americas Styrenics”), which continues to be a leading producer in North America of both styrene and polystyrene. In fact, in 2018 Americas Styrenics was the #1 producer of polystyrene and supplied 18% of the styrene monomer capacity in North America. We received a total of $117.5 million in cash dividends from Americas Styrenics during 2018. We estimate that the contribution to our equity earnings from Americas Styrenics’ polystyrene business was approximately 32% in 2018, 40% in 2017, and 51% in 2016. This translates to a contribution from Americas Styrenics’ polystyrene business to our Adjusted EBITDA of approximately 8% in 2018, 8% in 2017, and 11% in 2016.

Products and End Uses

Styrene monomer is a basic building block of plastics and a key input to many of the Company’s products. Styrene monomer is a key raw material for the production of polystyrene, and in 2018 approximately 58% of the styrene monomer produced by Americas Styrenics was consumed in its own production of polystyrene. The remainder of Americas Styrenics’ product is sold as a key raw material to other manufacturers of polystyrene, expandable polystyrene, SB latex, ABS resins, unsaturated polyethylene resins, and styrene-butadiene rubber.  

Americas Styrenics also produces GPPS, high heat, high impact resin, and STYRON A-TECH™ polystyrene products. Major applications for these polystyrene products include appliances, food packaging, food service disposables, consumer electronics and building and construction materials.

Competition and Customers

Americas Styrenics’ principal competitors are INEOS Styrolution, Total S.p.A., and LyondellBasell. In our Americas Styrenics segment, we compete primarily based on our ability to offer reliable products as well as the quality of our customer service and the length and depth of our relationships.

As a leading styrenics producer in North America, this segment is well-positioned to benefit from consolidation dynamics in the styrene and polystyrene industries within the region. With global utilization rates expected to steadily improve as demand grows in end-markets, we believe opportunities will be created for us, given our scale and geographic reach that will benefit the Americas Styrenics segment. However, like many of competitors in the styrenics market, the aged assets associated with this segment may result in unplanned outages that may adversely impact our service levels and competitive position.

Seasonality

Reporting periods impacted by the winter season and unfavorable weather conditions that typically affect the construction and building materials end markets may result in seasonally lower performance in our Americas Styrenics segment.

Our Relationship with Dow

We have entered into certain agreements with Dow, including the Second Amended and Restated Master Outsourcing Services Agreement, which was modified on June 1, 2013 (“SAR MOSA”), the Amended and Restated MOD5 Computerized Process Control Software, Licenses and Services Agreement, with Rofan Services, Inc. which was modified on June 1, 2013 (“AR MOD5 Agreement”), site and operating services agreements (“SAR SSAs”), and supply agreements.

The SAR MOSA provides for ongoing worldwide services from Dow, in areas such as information technology, enterprise resource planning, finance, environmental health and safety, training, customer service, marketing and sales support, supply chain and certain sourcing and transactional procurement services. This agreement is effective through December 31, 2020, with automatic two-year renewals, barring six-months’ notice of non-renewal provided by either party. The Company has the ability to terminate all or a portion of the services under the SAR MOSA, subject to payment of termination charges, with certain ‘highly integrated’ services following a separate process for evaluation and termination. In addition, either party may terminate for cause, for material breach which is not cured, or by Dow in the event of our failure to pay for the services thereunder. In the event of a change of control, as defined in the agreement, Dow has the right to terminate the SAR MOSA. 

We use SAP’s Enterprise Resource Planning (“ERP”) software systems to support our operations worldwide and to manage our day-to-day business processes and relationships with customers and suppliers. Under the SAR MOSA, Dow provides us with ERP systems support, global data/voice network and server infrastructure for desktop computing, email, file sharing, intranet and internet website access, and mainframe and midrange computer access.

During 2018, the Company began efforts to insource, and in some cases outsource to other vendors, certain information technology, procurement, supply chain, and ERP services and systems currently provided by Dow. Before the end of 2019, the Company expects to cease having Dow provide certain customer service and logistics activities, procurement services, and environmental health and safety activities, with certain information security and information technology services and systems to be transitioned thereafter. During 2018, the Company incurred $26.1 million in costs related to our transition of these services away from Dow, of which $5.7 million was capitalized and $20.4 million was recognized as expense. The Company expects to incur further significant costs related to transitioning services away from Dow.

Under the AR MOD5 Agreement, Dow provides worldwide process control technology, including hardware, software licenses and support services, and related enterprise resource planning services. The AR MOD5 Agreement, with a term through December 2020, may be terminated by either party for cause, which includes a bankruptcy,

liquidation or similar proceeding by the other party, for material breach which is not cured by us if we no longer wish to receive maintenance and support for any licensed software; or by Dow if we use the licensed software for any purposes other than Company business. Dow may terminate the maintenance and support terms at any time if we fail to make payments when due and the default is not corrected within 30 days from notice, or upon two-years’ written notice to us, if Dow has made the decision not to support the software systems, provided that Dow will use commercially reasonable efforts to assist us in locating and transitioning to an alternate service provider. While we are not permitted to use this automation technology for new plants or to substantially expand existing plants, we can use other technology solutions for those situations. As of December 31, 2018, we have converted approximately half of our plants from the AR MOD5 process control technology through a strategic external relationship with ABB Ltd. and expect to convert six additional plants in 2019, with the remainder of our plants converted thereafter.

In addition, we entered into various site services agreements with Dow to provide site services to the Company at Dow owned sites, which were modified as of June 1, 2013 (the “Amendment Date”). Conversely, we entered into similar agreements with Dow in June 2010, where at Company owned sites, we provide such services to Dow. These SAR SSAs cover general services that are provided at specific facilities co-located with Dow, rather than organization-wide services, and include utilities, site administration, environmental health and safety, site maintenance and supply chain. In certain circumstances, the parties may adjust certain prices and volumes. These agreements generally have 25-year terms from the Amendment Date, with options to renew. These agreements may be terminated at any time by agreement of the parties, or, by either party, for cause, including a bankruptcy, liquidation or similar proceeding by the other party, or under certain circumstances for a material breach which is not cured. In addition, we may terminate for convenience any services that Dow has agreed to provide to us that are identified in any site services agreement as “terminable” with 12-months’ prior notice to Dow, dependent upon whether the service is highly integrated into Dow operations. Highly integrated services are agreed to be nonterminable. With respect to “nonterminable” services that Dow has agreed to provide to us, such as electricity and steam, we generally cannot terminate such services prior to the termination date unless we experience a production unit shut down for which we provide Dow with 15-months’ prior notice, or upon payment of a shutdown fee. Upon expiration or termination, we would be obligated to pay a monthly fee to Dow, which obligation extends for a period of 45 (in the case of expiration) to 60 months (in the case of termination) following the respective event of each site services agreement. The agreements under which Dow receives services from us may be terminated under the same circumstances and conditions.

For the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, we incurred a total of $265.1 million, $236.4 million, and $224.7 million, respectively, in expenses under the SAR MOSA, AR MOD5 Agreement, and site services agreements (which include utilities), including $210.8 million, $183.3 million, and $174.8 million, respectively, for both the variable and fixed cost components of the site services agreements and $54.3 million, $53.1 million, and $49.9 million, respectively, covering all other agreements.

In addition, at the date of the Acquisition, we entered into a contract manufacturing agreement pursuant to which we operate and maintain our SAN facility in Midland, Michigan to produce products for Dow. This agreement has a 25-year term, with automatic renewals for five-year terms unless one party gives notice at least 18 months prior to the end of the period. We may terminate any operational service under the agreement in the event that we experience a production unit shutdown, with 15-months’ prior notice to Dow. Furthermore, the agreement may be terminated by mutual agreement between the parties, by either party on notice that the other party fails to cure non-performance or if the other party is in material breach of a material obligation under the agreement within certain parameters, or because of either party’s insolvency.

For the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, purchases and other charges from Dow and its affiliated companies (excluding the SAR MOSA, AR MOD5 Agreement, and site services agreements) were approximately $1,145.5 million, $1,120.8 million, and $865.7 million, respectively. These purchases and other charges primarily relate to the purchase of raw materials for manufacturing of our products, as discussed further below. Additionally, for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, sales to Dow and its affiliated companies were approximately $248.4 million, $235.2 million, and $203.5 million, respectively.

We continue to leverage Dow’s scale and operational capabilities by procuring certain raw materials, utilities, site services, and other information technology and business services from Dow. In connection with the Acquisition, we entered into several agreements with Dow relating to the provision of certain products and services and other operational arrangements. Dow provides significant operating and other services, and certain raw materials used in the production of our products, under agreements that are important to our business. The failure of Dow to perform their obligations, or the 

termination of these agreements, could adversely affect our operations. Significant capital expenditures would be required to integrate these capabilities into our own operations. See Item 1A—Risk Factors.

Sources and Availability of Raw Materials

The prices of our key raw materials are volatile and can fluctuate significantly over time. While the predominant reason for this volatility is the impact of market imbalances in supply and demand from time to time, energy prices may also impact the volatility of some of our raw materials. The table below shows our key raw materials by reporting segment.

We have supply contracts in place to help maintain our supply of raw materials at competitive market prices and seek to implement the most efficient and reliable raw material strategy for each of our segments, including maintaining a balance between contracted and spot purchases of raw materials. We also produce raw materials for use by our businesses, such as styrene monomer.  

In 2018, we obtained approximately 31% of our raw materials from Dow (based on aggregate purchase price). While Dow provides a significant portion of our raw materials to us pursuant to supply agreements, we have developed a comprehensive strategy for obtaining additional sources of supply where needed. Our 2010 agreements with Dow for ethylene, benzene, and butadiene have 10-year terms with automatic two-year renewal provisions. Minimum and maximum monthly contract quantities were established based on historical consumption rates, and our pricing terms are based on commodity indices in the relevant geography.  

In 2018, Dow supplied us with approximately 96% of our benzene requirements and 100% of our ethylene requirements through 10-year contracts that commenced in 2010 and include automatic two-year renewal provisions. Dow is our largest supplier for these materials in Europe, where we purchase directly from Dow’s existing butadiene extraction facilities pursuant to the terms of a 10-year contract that commenced in 2010 and includes an automatic two-year renewal term. Other supply sources in Europe include major producers with contract terms of up to five years at competitive market prices. Supply to North America and Asia are exclusively from other major third party producers via supply contracts.

In addition to purchasing styrene through long-term strategic contracts and spot market purchases, we produce styrene internally from purchased ethylene and benzene at our own manufacturing sites. These sources provided 36%, 17%, and 48%, respectively, of our supply in 2018. With this mix of purchased and produced styrene, we seek to optimize our overall costs of securing styrene through efficient logistics, manufacturing economics and market dynamics.

Bisphenol A (“BPA”) is the major raw material associated with PC production. This raw material is produced by a subsidiary of Olin Corporation and is supplied via pipeline to us through a supply contract in Europe that has an initial term expiring in December 2019.

Technology

Our R&D and TS&D activities across our segments focus on identifying needs in our customers’ end-markets. As part of our customer-centric model, our R&D/TS&D organization interfaces with our sales and marketing teams and

directly with customers to determine their product requirements in light of trends in their industries and market segments. This information is used to select R&D/TS&D projects that are value-enhancing for both our customers and us.

Our innovation and technology centers support our technological and R&D/TS&D capabilities. In addition, our R&D/TS&D efforts are also supported by our two SB latex pilot coaters and certain “mini-plants” operated by our businesses in Stade and Schkopau, Germany. These mini plants are used to make samples of experimental products for testing, which we believe is a critical step in our new product development process. In addition, in 2017, we opened a new Plastics Research Center, which modernized two existing technical support centers and research lab operations in a single location at our Terneuzen, The Netherlands office location.

R&D and TS&D costs are included in expenses as incurred. Our R&D and TS&D costs were $56.0 million, $54.3 million, and $50.1 million, for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively.

Sales and Marketing

We have a customer-centric business model that has helped us to develop strong relationships with many customers. Our sales and marketing professionals are primarily located at our facilities or at virtual offices within their respective geographies. We have approximately 161 professionals working in sales and marketing around the world, along with approximately 80 customer service professionals and we sell our products to customers in approximately 80 countries. We primarily market our products through our direct sales force. Typically our direct sales are made by our employees in the regions closest to the given customer.

Intellectual Property

We evaluate on a case-by-case basis how best to utilize patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and other intellectual property in order to protect our products and our critical investments in research and development, manufacturing and marketing. We focus on securing and maintaining patents for certain inventions, while maintaining other inventions as trade secrets, derived from our customer-centric business model, in an effort to maximize the value of our product portfolio and manufacturing capabilities. Our policy is to seek appropriate protection for significant product and process developments in the major markets where the relevant products are manufactured or sold. Patents may cover products, processes, intermediate products and product uses. Patents extend for varying periods in accordance with the date of patent application filing and the legal life of patents in the various countries. The protection afforded, which may also vary from country to country, depends upon the type of subject matter covered by the patent and the scope of the claims of the patent.

In most industrial countries, patent protection may be available for new substances and formulations, as well as for unique applications and production processes. However, given the geographical scope of our business and our continued growth strategy, there are regions of the world in which we do business or may do business in the future where intellectual property protection may be limited and difficult to enforce. We maintain strict information security policies and procedures wherever we do business. These information security policies and procedures include data encryption, controls over the disclosure and safekeeping of confidential information, as well as employee awareness training. Moreover, we monitor our competitors’ products and, if circumstances were to dictate that we do so, we would vigorously challenge the actions of others that conflict with our patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights.

The technologies we utilize in some of our business lines have been in use for many years (e.g., SB latex and ABS) and a number of our patents relating to such technologies have expired or will expire in within the next several years. As patents expire, or are allowed to lapse, the products and processes described and claimed in those patents become generally available for use by the public. We believe that the expiration of any single patent or family of patents that is scheduled to expire in the next three years would not materially adversely affect our business or financial results. We believe that our trade secrets relating to manufacturing and other processes used in connection with products to which expiring patents relate will continue to provide us with a competitive advantage after the expiration of these patents.

We use trademarks as a means of differentiating our products. We protect our trademarks against infringement where we deem appropriate. We have successfully registered the TRINSEO™ trademark in over 90 countries and have other trademark applications pending.

Dow has either transferred to us or granted perpetual, royalty-free licenses to us to use Dow’s intellectual property that was used by Dow to operate the Styron business prior to the Acquisition. This intellectual property includes certain processes, compositions and apparatus used in the manufacture of our products. In addition to our license rights to use Dow’s intellectual property related to the Styron business, we have obtained licenses to use Dow’s intellectual property to the extent necessary to perform our obligations under the contracts transferred to us in the Acquisition and to use such intellectual property (other than patents) for products outside of the Styron business as it was conducted by Dow prior to the Acquisition, subject to certain limitations. While we believe our license rights with respect to Dow’s intellectual property are sufficient to allow us to operate our current business, new growth opportunities in latex binders, and to a lesser extent plastics, involving new products may fall outside of our license rights with Dow. Therefore, our ability to develop new products may be impacted by intellectual property rights that have not been licensed to us by Dow. We have the right, with Dow’s cooperation, to directly enforce the patents that are exclusively licensed to us by Dow where infringement is primarily within the scope of our business; but nothing obligates Dow to enforce against third parties the intellectual property rights of Dow that are licensed to us on a non-exclusive basis or where the infringement is primarily outside the scope of our business.

Since our formation on June 17, 2010, we have focused our product innovation on our product lines within the Company’s Synthetic Rubber, Latex Binders and Performance Plastics segments. The intellectual property that we have created or acquired since the Acquisition is largely in these segments and covers areas such as material formulations, material process technologies and various end-use industrial applications.

Environmental, Health, Safety and Product Stewardship

Obtaining, producing and distributing many of our products involve the use, storage, transportation and disposal of toxic and hazardous materials. We are subject to extensive, evolving and increasingly stringent national and local environmental and safety laws and regulations, which address, among other things, the following:

We monitor compliance with applicable state, national, and international environmental, health and safety requirements and maintain policies and procedures to monitor and control environmental, health and safety risks, which may in some circumstances exceed the requirements imposed by applicable law. We have a strong environmental, health and safety organization with a staff of professionals who are responsible for environmental, health, safety and product regulatory compliance and stewardship in addition to the standards, tools and services purchased from Dow. We supplement our programs and Dow’s services with our participation in trade associations which monitor developments in legislation impacting our businesses. Additionally, our Supplier Code of Conduct includes our expectations for our suppliers to comply with applicable laws and regulations and encourages them to adhere to the highest principles of environmental responsibility.

We follow the American Chemistry Council Responsible Care® Guiding Principles for our global facilities and products and last received third party certification of our Responsible Care® Management System in September 2016. Many of our facilities have been certified to ISO 14001 and other ISO management systems. We have a mature corporate environmental, health and safety audit program for all of our facilities. We focus on emergency preparedness and crisis planning and drills, at both the facility and corporate level. We expect that stringent environmental regulations will continue to be imposed on us and our industry in general.

Sustainability and Climate Change

We recognize that climate change has had and will continue to have significant impacts on our environment, particularly as it relates to extreme weather conditions, rising sea levels, and regulations limiting the emission of greenhouse gases. In the countries in which we operate, particularly in the EU, we are required to comply with increasingly extensive regulations to address climate change impacts and resource conservation requirements.

We track and publicly report our greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, and energy consumptions and our facilities work to improve our performance at reducing chemical emissions, water usage and energy consumption. Our Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Report, which is available on our website, provides our most recent sustainability highlights for our products, performance and operations. The report highlights our initiatives to improve our sustainability performance. We do not expect the costs to comply with legislation enacted as a result of climate change and other sustainability efforts will be material to our operations and consolidated financial position in the next 12 months.

Environmental Remediation

Environmental laws and regulations require mitigation or remediation of the effects of the disposal or release of chemical substances. Under some of these regulations, as the current owner or operator of a property, we could be held liable for the costs of removal or remediation of hazardous substances on or under the property, without regard to whether we knew of or caused the contamination, and regardless of whether the practices that resulted in the contamination were permitted at the time they occurred. At our Allyn’s Point, Connecticut property we lease a portion of the property to our joint venture, Americas Styrenics, for its operations, which includes a regulated hazardous waste boiler. Potential liabilities resulting from our owner status are addressed through financial assurance mechanisms and other agreements. Many of our production sites have an extended history of industrial use, and it is impossible to predict precisely what effect these laws and regulations will have on us in the future. Soil and groundwater contamination has occurred at some of the sites, and might occur or be discovered at other sites. Subject to certain monetary and temporal limitations, Dow is obligated to indemnify and hold us harmless with respect to releases of hazardous material that existed at our sites prior to our separation from Dow in June 2010. However, we cannot be certain that Dow will fully honor the indemnity or that the indemnity will be sufficient to satisfy all claims that we may incur. In addition, we face the risk that future claims might fall outside of the scope of the indemnity, particularly if we experience a release of hazardous materials that occurs in the future or at any time after our separation from Dow. Except for minor monitoring activities that we are performing in Livorno, Italy pursuant to an agreement with Dow, we do not currently have any material obligations to perform environmental remediation on our properties, or for any Superfund site. Any active remedial projects on our properties are being performed by Dow pursuant to its indemnification obligations or for any Superfund sites. We conduct comprehensive environmental due diligence for potential acquisitions to mitigate the risk of assuming obligations to conduct material levels of environmental remediation.

Security

We recognize the importance of security and safety to our employees and the community. Physical security measures have been combined with process safety measures (including the use of technology) and emergency response preparedness into integrated security plans. We have conducted vulnerability assessments at our operating facilities in the U.S. and high priority sites worldwide and identified and implemented appropriate measures to protect these facilities from physical and cyber-attacks. Effort and resources in assessing security vulnerabilities and taking steps to reinforce security at our manufacturing facilities will continue to be required to comply with U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) and other requirements.

We use Dow’s information security program and systems and have expanded our own information security resources, policies, programs and preparedness to respond to potential information security breaches and to maintain compliance with the increasing amount of data privacy laws and regulation.

Employees

As of December 31, 2018, we had approximately 2,500 employees worldwide. Nearly 68% of our personnel are located at the various manufacturing sites, research and development, pilot coating, paper fabrication and testing and technology centers. The remaining employees are located at operating centers, virtual locations or geographically dispersed marketing and sales locations. Our Midland, Michigan site is the only U.S. facility with union representation for its 48 hourly operations personnel, and employees at certain of our locations are represented by work councils. We consider relations with our personnel and the various labor organizations to be good. There have been no labor strikes or work stoppages in these locations in recent history.

Available Information

Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, are available free of charge through the Investor Relations section of our website, www.trinseo.com, as soon as reasonably practicable after the reports are electronically filed or furnished with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). We provide this website and the information contained in or connected to it for informational purposes only. That information is not part of this Annual Report.

Item 1A.    Risk Factors

Risks Related to Our Business

Volatility in energy and the cost of the raw materials utilized for our products, or disruption in the supply of the raw materials utilized for our products, may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations or cause our financial results to differ materially from our forecasts.

Our results of operations can be directly affected, positively and negatively, by volatility in the cost of our raw materials, which are subject to global supply and demand and other factors beyond our control. Our principal raw materials (benzene, ethylene, butadiene, BPA, and styrene) together represent approximately 56% of our total cost of goods sold. Additionally, we use natural gas and electricity to operate our facilities and generate heat and steam for our various manufacturing processes. Crude oil prices also impact our raw material and energy costs. Generally, higher crude oil prices lead to higher costs of natural gas and raw materials, although some raw materials are impacted less than others. Volatility in the cost of energy or raw materials makes it more challenging to manage pricing and pass the increases on to our customers in a timely manner. We believe that rapid changes in pricing also can affect the volume our customers consume. As a result, our gross profit and margins could also be adversely affected and our financial results may differ materially from our forecasts.

We have long-term supply agreements with Dow for ethylene, benzene, and butadiene, which are critical raw materials to our business and expire in June 2020. These raw materials and other less critical materials amount to approximately 31% of our raw materials (based on aggregate purchase price). The remainder is purchased via other third-party suppliers on a global basis. As our Dow contracts and other third-party contracts expire, we may be unable to renew these contracts or obtain new long-term supply agreements on terms comparable or favorable to us, depending on market conditions, which may significantly impact our operations.  See Item 1—Business—  Sources and Availability of Raw Materials.

If the availability of any of our principal raw materials is limited, we may be unable to produce some of our products in the quantities demanded by our customers, which could have an adverse effect on plant utilization and our sales of products requiring such raw materials. Suppliers may have temporary limitations preventing them from meeting our requirements, and we may not be able to obtain substitute alternative suppliers in a timely manner or on favorable terms.

Conditions in the global economy and capital markets may adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Our products are sold in markets that are sensitive to changes in general economic conditions, such as sales of automotive and construction products. Downturns in general economic conditions can cause fluctuations in demand for our products, product prices, volumes and margins.

Turbulence in the credit markets, fluctuating commodity prices, volatile exchange rates and other challenges affecting the global economy can affect us and our customers. Instability and uncertainty in financial and commodity markets throughout the world may cause, among other things, severely diminished liquidity and credit availability, rating downgrades of certain investments and declining valuations and pricing volatility of others, volatile energy and raw materials costs, geopolitical issues and failure and the potential failure of major financial institutions. Adverse events affecting the health of the economy, including sovereign debt and economic crises, refugee crises, terrorism, Brexit, rising protectionism, tariffs, and the threat of war, could have a negative impact on the health of the global economy. These developments, or the perception that any of them could occur, may have a material adverse effect on global economic conditions or on the stability of global financial markets. During any period of uncertainty or heightened market volatility, consumer confidence may decline which could lead to a decline in demand for our products or a shift to lower-margin products, which could adversely affect sales of our products and our profitability and could also result in impairments of certain of our assets.

Deterioration in the financial and credit market heightens the risk of customer bankruptcies and delay in payment. We are unable to predict the duration of the current economic conditions or their effects on financial markets, our business and results of operations. If economic conditions deteriorate, our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.

Our migration away from services and technologies provided by Dow will entail significant expense and may cause disruptions that could adversely affect our future results, business and financial condition.

During 2018, the Company began efforts to insource, and in some cases outsource to other vendors, certain information technology, procurement, supply chain, and ERP services and systems currently provided by Dow. Before the end of 2019, the Company expects to cease having Dow provide certain customer service and logistics activities, procurement services, and environmental health and safety activities, with certain information security and information technology services and systems to be transitioned thereafter. Additionally, the Company is migrating our manufacturing facilities away from Dow’s AR MOD5 technology over the next several years.  For more information regarding our relationship with Dow, please see Item 1—Business — Our Relationship with Dow.

During 2018, the Company incurred $26.1 million in costs related to our transition of these services away from Dow, of which $5.7 million was capitalized and $20.4 million was recognized as expense. The Company expects to incur further significant costs related to transitioning services away from Dow. Unanticipated capital expenditures and additional expense associated with these migrations may reduce the Company’s cash position and profitability, respectively. Further, if the replacement services and technologies are not integrated properly or their integration is delayed, the Company could experience production and operational delays that could significantly harm its reputation and its financial condition. The migration of these services and technologies may divert the attention of our management from day-to-day operations and impose significant administrative burdens on our business.

Capital projects and other growth investments may have lengthy deadlines during which market conditions may deteriorate between the capital expenditure’s approval date and the conclusion of the project, negatively impacting projected returns. If we are unable to execute on our capital projects or growth plans within their expected budget and timelines, or if the market conditions assumed in our projections deteriorate, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially and adversely affected.

Delays or cost increases related to capital and other spending programs involving engineering, procurement and construction of facilities or manufacturing lines or the development of new technologies could materially adversely affect our ability to achieve forecasted operating results. Project delays or budget overages may arise as a result of unpredictable events, which may be beyond our control, including, but not limited to:

Furthermore, presumed demand for the technologies or products provided by the manufacturing facilities or lines being constructed or the technologies being developed may deteriorate during the project period. If we were unable to stay within a project’s overall timeline or budget, or if market conditions change, it could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Production at our manufacturing facilities could be disrupted for a variety of reasons. Disruptions could expose us to significant losses or liabilities.

The hazards and risks of disruption associated with chemical manufacturing and the related storage and transportation of raw materials, products and wastes exist in our operations and the operations of other occupants with whom we share manufacturing sites. These potential risks of disruption include, but are not necessarily limited to:

These hazards could expose employees, customers, the community and others to toxic chemicals and other hazards, contaminate the environment, damage property, result in personal injury or death, lead to an interruption or suspension of operations, damage our reputation and adversely affect the productivity and profitability of a particular manufacturing facility or us as a whole, and result in the need for remediation, governmental enforcement, regulatory shutdowns, the imposition of government fines and penalties, and claims brought by governmental entities or third parties. Legal claims and regulatory actions could subject us to both civil and criminal penalties, which could affect our product sales, reputation and profitability. Furthermore, the environmental, health and safety compliance, management systems, and emergency response and crisis management plans we have in place may not address or foresee all potential risks or causes of disruption.

If disruptions occur, alternative facilities with sufficient capacity or capabilities may not be available, may cost substantially more or may take a significant time to start production. Each of these scenarios could negatively affect our business and financial performance. If one of our key manufacturing facilities is unable to produce our products for an extended period of time, our sales may be reduced by the shortfall caused by the disruption and we may not be able to meet our customers’ needs, which could cause them to seek other suppliers. Furthermore, to the extent a production disruption occurs at a manufacturing facility that has been operating at or near full capacity, the resulting shortage of our product could be particularly harmful because production at the manufacturing facility may not be able to reach levels achieved prior to the disruption. Our insurance policies may not fully insure against all potential causes of disruption due to limitations and exclusions in those policies. Therefore, incidents that significantly disrupt our operations may expose us to significant losses and/or liabilities.

Trinseo Europe GmbH, one of our subsidiaries, received a Request for Information from the European Commission Directorate General for Competition, involving commercial activity for styrene monomer. To the extent the European Commission’s inquiry would lead to a finding that the Company’s subsidiary violated the law, the results of this finding could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

On June 6, 2018, Trinseo Europe GmbH, a subsidiary of the Company, received a Request for Information in the form of a letter from the European Commission Directorate General for Competition (the “European Commission”)

related to styrene monomer commercial activity in the European Economic Area. In addition, the Company commenced an internal investigation into the matter and has discovered instances of inappropriate activity. The Company is fully cooperating with the European Commission’s request and has delivered all requested documents responsive to its information request.

Notwithstanding the delivery of our response to the European Commission, this matter remains open with the European Commission. As a result, we are unable to make any predictions regarding the ultimate outcome of our response to the European Commission’s request.

Based on its findings, the European Commission may decide to: (i) require further information; (ii) conduct unannounced raids of the Company’s premises; (iii) adopt decisions imposing fines, interim measures to halt immediately any anti-competitive behavior, orders for the Company to cease anti-competitive activities, and/or certain behavioral or structural commitments from the Company; or (iv) take no further action. If Trinseo Europe GmbH is found to have violated one or more laws, it could also be subject to additional actions by local competition authorities.  European Commission inquiries or investigations can continue over a long period of time, which can divert the attention of our management from day-to-day operations and impose significant administrative burdens. Any of these consequences could damage our reputation and impair our ability to conduct business, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

We are subject to customs, international trade, export control, and antitrust laws that could require us to modify our current business practices and incur increased costs.

We are subject to numerous regulations, including customs and international trade laws, export/import control laws, and associated regulations. These laws and regulations limit the countries in which we can do business; the persons or entities with whom we can do business; the products which we can buy or sell; and the terms under which we can do business, including anti-dumping restrictions. In addition, we are subject to antitrust laws and zoning and occupancy laws that regulate manufacturers generally and/or govern the importation, promotion and sale of our products, the operation of factories and warehouse facilities and our relationship with our customers, suppliers and competitors. If any of these laws or regulations were to change or were violated by our management, employees, suppliers, buying agents or trading companies, the costs of certain goods could increase, or we could experience delays in shipments of our goods, be subject to fines or penalties, or suffer reputational harm, which could reduce demand for our products and hurt our business and negatively impact results of operations. In addition, in some areas we benefit from certain trade protections, including anti-dumping protection and the EU’s Authorized Economic Operator program, which provides expedited customs treatment for materials crossing national borders. If we were to lose these protections, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

We may engage in strategic acquisitions or dispositions of certain assets and/or businesses that could affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

We may selectively pursue complementary acquisitions and joint ventures, each of which inherently involves a number of risks and presents financial, managerial and operational challenges, including, but not limited to:

In addition, we may encounter unforeseen obstacles or costs in the integration of acquired businesses. Also, the presence of one or more material liabilities of an acquired company that are unknown to us at the time of acquisition may have a material adverse effect on our business or financial results. Our acquisition and joint venture strategy may not be successfully received by customers or other stakeholders, and we may not realize any anticipated benefits from acquisitions or joint ventures.

We may also opportunistically pursue dispositions of certain assets and/or businesses, which may involve material amounts of assets or lines of business, and adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. If any such dispositions were to occur, under the terms of our senior secured credit agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) governing our senior secured financing facility of up to $1,075.0 million (the “Senior Credit Facility”) and the indenture (the “Indenture”) governing our $500.0 million aggregate principal of 5.375% senior notes due 2025 (the “2025 Senior

Notes”), we may be required to apply the proceeds of the sale to repay any borrowings under our Senior Credit Facility or our 2025 Senior Notes. Dispositions may also involve continued financial involvement in the divested business, such as through continuing equity ownership, transition service agreements, guarantees, indemnities or other current or contingent financial obligations. Under these arrangements, performance by the divested businesses or other conditions outside our control could affect our future financial results.

Dow provides significant operating and other services, and certain raw materials used in the production of our products, under agreements that are important to our business. The failure of Dow to perform its obligations, or the termination of these agreements, could adversely affect our operations.

Prior to our inception, we were operated by Dow, which has provided and continues to provide services under certain agreements that are important to our business. We are a party to:

Under the terms of the above agreements, either party is permitted to terminate the applicable agreement in a variety of situations, including in the event of the other party’s uncured material breach, insolvency, change of control or cessation of operations. Should Dow fail to provide these services or raw materials, or should any of the above agreements be terminated, we would be forced to obtain these services and raw materials from third parties or provide them ourselves. Additionally, if Dow terminates agreements pursuant to which we are obligated to provide certain services, we may lose the fees received by us under these agreements. The failure of Dow to perform its obligations under, or the termination of, any of these contracts could adversely affect our operations and, depending on market conditions at the time of any such termination, we may not be able to enter into substitute arrangements in a timely manner, or on terms as favorable to us. For more information regarding our relationship with Dow, please see Item 1—Business — Our Relationship with Dow.

Regulatory and statutory changes applicable to our raw materials and products and our customers’ products could require material expenditures, changes in our operations and could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Changes in environmental, health and safety regulations, in jurisdictions where we manufacture and sell our products, could lead to a decrease in demand for our products. In addition to changes in regulations, health, sustainability, and safety concerns could increase the costs incurred by our customers to use our products and otherwise limit the use of these products, which could lead to decreased demand for these products. Such a decrease in demand likely would have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Materials such as acrylonitrile, ethylbenzene, styrene, butadiene, BPA and halogenated flame retardant are used in the manufacturing of our products and have come under scrutiny due to potentially significant or perceived health and safety concerns. Moreover, bans on single-use plastic and similar regulatory actions to reduce plastic waste may reduce the demand for some of our products over time.

Additionally, these regulatory regimes currently require significant compliance expenditures by us, and changes applicable to our raw materials and products or our customers’ products could require significant additional expenditures by us, or changes in our operations.

Our products are also used in a variety of end-uses that have specific regulatory requirements such as those relating to products that have contact with food or medical device end-uses. Our customers or distributors may not follow our policies and advice regarding the safe use and application of our products, which may unknowingly expose us to third-party claims. We and many of the applications for the products in the end markets in which we sell our products are regulated by various national and local rules, laws and regulations, such as the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act and the EU’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals regulations. Changes in regulations

could result in additional compliance costs, seizures, confiscations, recall or monetary fines, any of which could prevent or inhibit the development, distribution and sale of our products. Changes in environmental and safety laws and regulations banning or restricting the use of these residual materials in our products, or our customers’ products, could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. Failure to appropriately manage safety, human health, product liability and environmental risks associated with our products, product life cycles and production processes could adversely impact employees, communities, stakeholders, our reputation and the results of our operations.

Joint ventures may not operate according to their business plans if we or our partners fail to fulfill our or their obligations, or differences in views among our joint venture partners result in delayed decisions, which may adversely affect our results of operations and may force us to dedicate additional resources to these joint ventures.

For the year ended December 31, 2018, we received dividends of $117.5 million from our Americas Styrenics joint venture. We may enter into additional joint ventures in the future. The nature of a joint venture requires us to share control with unaffiliated third parties. If joint venture partners do not fulfill their obligations, the affected joint venture may not be able to operate according to its business plan. In that case, our results of operations may be adversely affected and we may be required to increase the level of our commitment to the joint venture. Differences in views among joint venture participants and our inability to unilaterally implement sales and production strategies or determine cash distributions from joint ventures may significantly impact short-term and longer term financial results, financial condition and the value of our ordinary shares.

Our current and future level of indebtedness of our subsidiaries could adversely affect our financial condition.

As of December 31, 2018, our indebtedness totaled approximately $1.2 billion. Additionally, as of December 31, 2018, we had $360.7 million (net of $14.3 million outstanding letters of credit) of funds available for borrowings under our 2022 Revolving Facility, as well as $150.0 million of funds available for borrowings under our Accounts Receivable Securitization Facility. Our level of indebtedness could have important consequences, including, but not limited to:

Although the Senior Credit Facility and the Indenture governing our 2025 Senior Notes contain restrictions on the incurrence of additional indebtedness, these restrictions are subject to a number of qualifications and exceptions and the indebtedness incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. Also, we are not prevented from incurring obligations that do not constitute “indebtedness” as defined in the Senior Credit Facility or the Indenture, such as operating leases and trade payables. If new debt is added to our subsidiaries’ current debt levels, the risks related to indebtedness that we now face could intensify.

In addition, a substantial portion of our subsidiaries’ current indebtedness is secured by substantially all of our assets, which may make it more difficult to secure additional borrowings at reasonable costs. If we default or declare bankruptcy, after these obligations are met, there may not be sufficient funds or assets to satisfy our subordinate interests, including those of our shareholders. For more information regarding our indebtedness, please see Item 7—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations— Capital Resources, Indebtedness and Liquidity.

The terms of our subsidiaries’ indebtedness may restrict our current and future operations, particularly our ability to respond to change or to take certain actions.

The Indenture and the Credit Agreement governing our Senior Credit Facility contain a number of covenants imposing certain restrictions on our subsidiaries’ businesses. These restrictions may affect our ability to operate our

business and may limit our ability to take advantage of business opportunities. These agreements restrict, among other things, our subsidiaries’ ability to:

The ability of our subsidiaries to comply with the covenants and financial ratios and tests contained in the Indenture and Credit Agreement, to pay interest on indebtedness, fund working capital, and make anticipated capital expenditures depends on our future performance, which is subject to general economic conditions and other factors, some of which are beyond our control. There can be no assurance that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that future borrowings will be available under our Senior Credit Facility to fund liquidity needs in an amount sufficient to enable them to service their indebtedness. Furthermore, if we need additional capital for general corporate purposes or to execute on an expansion strategy, there can be no assurance that this capital will be available on satisfactory terms or at all.

A failure to repay amounts owed under the Senior Credit Facility or 2025 Senior Notes at maturity would result in a default. In addition, a breach of any of the covenants in the Senior Credit Facility or Indenture governing our 2025 Senior Notes or our inability to comply with the required financial ratios or limits could result in a default. If a default occurs, lenders may refuse to lend us additional funds and the lenders or noteholders could declare all of the debt and any accrued interest and fees immediately due and payable. A default under one of our subsidiaries’ debt agreements may trigger a cross-default under our other debt agreements. For more information regarding our indebtedness, please see Item 7—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations— Capital Resources, Indebtedness and Liquidity.

If we are not able to continue the technological innovation and successful commercial introduction of new products, our customers may turn to other producers to meet their requirements.

Our industry and the end markets into which we sell our products experience periodic technological changes and ongoing product improvements. Our customers may introduce new generations of their own products or require new technological and increased performance specifications that would require us to develop customized products. Innovation or other changes in our customers’ product performance requirements may also adversely affect the demand for our products. Our future growth will depend on our ability to gauge the direction of the commercial and technological progress in all key end markets, and upon our ability to successfully develop, manufacture and market products in such changing end markets. We need to continue to identify, develop and market innovative products on a timely basis to replace existing products in order to maintain our profit margins and our competitive position. We may not be successful in developing new products and technology that successfully compete with these materials, and our customers may not accept any of our new products. If we fail to keep pace with evolving technological innovations or fail to modify our products in response to our customers’ needs, then our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected as a result of reduced sales of our products.

As a global business, we are exposed to local business risks in different countries, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

We have significant operations worldwide, including manufacturing facilities, R&D facilities, sales personnel and customer support operations. As of December 31, 2018, we operated, or others operated on our behalf, 30 manufacturing plants (which include a total of 75 production units) at 23 sites around the world, including in Colombia, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Sweden, Italy, China, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, and the United States. Our

international operations are subject to risks inherent in doing business in foreign countries, including, but not necessarily limited to:

We may not be successful in developing and implementing policies and strategies to address the foregoing factors in a timely and effective manner at each location where we do business. Consequently, the occurrence of one or more of the foregoing factors could have a material adverse effect on our international operations or upon our financial condition and results of operations.

Our operations in developing markets could expose us to political, economic and regulatory risks that are greater than those we may face in established markets. For example, we operate in some nations that have experienced significant levels of governmental corruption. Any failure by us to ensure that our employees and agents comply with applicable laws and regulations in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial civil and criminal penalties or restrictions on our ability to conduct business in certain foreign jurisdictions or reputational damage, and our results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.

We may be subject to losses due to liabilities or lawsuits related to contaminated land we own or operate or arising out of environmental damage or personal injuries associated with exposure to chemicals or the release of chemicals.

Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) and similar statutes outside the U.S., the current or former owner or operator of a property contaminated by hazardous substance releases is subject to strict, unlimited, joint, several and retroactive liability for the investigation and remediation of the property, and also may be liable for natural resource damages associated with the releases. We also face the risk that individuals could seek damages for personal injury due to exposure to chemicals at our facilities, chemicals which have been released from our facilities, chemicals otherwise owned or controlled by us, or chemicals which allegedly migrated from products containing our materials. We may be subject to claims with respect to workplace exposure, workers’ compensation and other health and safety matters. Legal claims and regulatory actions could subject us to both civil and criminal penalties, which could affect our reputation as well as our results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity.

There are several properties which we now own on which Dow has been conducting remediation to address historical contamination. Those properties include Allyn’s Point, Connecticut; Dalton, Georgia; and Livorno, Italy. There are other properties with historical contamination that are owned by Dow that we lease for our operations, including our facility in Midland, Michigan. While we did not assume the liabilities associated with these properties in the U.S., because CERCLA and similar laws can impose liability for contamination on the current owner or operator of a property, even if it did not create the contamination, there is a possibility that a governmental authority or private party could seek

to include us in an action or claim for remediation or damages, even though the contamination may have occurred prior to our ownership or occupancy. While Dow has agreed to indemnify us for liability for releases of hazardous materials that occurred prior to our separation from Dow, the indemnity is subject to monetary and temporal limitations, and we cannot be certain that Dow will fully honor the indemnity or that the indemnity will be sufficient to satisfy all claims that we may incur. In addition, we face the risk that future claims might fall partially or fully outside of the scope of the indemnity, particularly if there is a release of hazardous materials that occurs in the future or at any time after our separation from Dow or if the condition requiring remediation is attributable to a combination of events or operations occurring prior to and after our separation from Dow.

We are party to certain license agreements with Dow relating to intellectual property that is essential to our business. Because of this relationship, we may have limited ability to expand our use of certain intellectual property beyond the field of the license or to police infringement that may be harmful to our business.

In connection with our separation from Dow, we acquired ownership of, or in some cases, a worldwide right and license to use, certain patents, patent applications and other intellectual property of Dow that were used by Dow to operate our business segments or held by Dow primarily for the benefit of our business segments, prior to the Acquisition. Generally, we acquired ownership of the intellectual property that was primarily used in our business segments and acquired a license to a more limited set of intellectual property that had broader application within Dow beyond our core business segments. Our license from Dow is perpetual, irrevocable, fully paid, and royalty-free. Furthermore, our license from Dow is exclusive within our business segments for certain patents and patent applications that were used by Dow primarily prior to our separation, subject to licenses previously granted by Dow, and to certain retained rights of Dow, including Dow’s retained right to use patents and patent applications outside of our business segments and for internal consumption by Dow. Our license from Dow relates to polymeric compositions, manufacturing processes and end applications for the polymeric compositions; and is limited to use in defined areas corresponding to our current business segments excluding certain products and end-use application technology retained by Dow. Our ability to develop, manufacture or sell products and technology outside of these defined areas may be impeded by the intellectual property rights that have been retained by Dow, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, infringement on these intellectual property rights could also impact our business and competitive position. We may not be able to enforce our rights, and Dow may be unwilling to enforce its rights, with respect to this intellectual property that has been licensed by Dow.

Compliance with extensive and evolving environmental, health and safety laws may require substantial expenditures.

We use large quantities of hazardous substances, generate hazardous wastes and emit wastewater and air pollutants in our manufacturing operations. Consequently, our operations are subject to extensive environmental, health and safety laws and regulations at both the national and local level in multiple jurisdictions. Many of these laws and regulations have become more stringent over time and the costs of compliance with these requirements may increase, including costs associated with any capital investments for pollution control facilities. In addition, our production facilities and operations require operating permits, licenses or other approvals that may be subject to periodic renewal and, in circumstances of noncompliance, may be subject to revocation. The necessary licenses, permits or other approvals may not be issued or continue in effect, and any issued licenses, permits or approvals may contain more stringent limitations that restrict our operations or that require further expenditures to meet the permit requirements.

This continuing focus on climate change in jurisdictions in which we operate has and will continue to result in new environmental regulations that may negatively affect us. This could cause us to incur additional costs in complying with any new regulations, which may adversely impact our operations and financial condition.  Compliance with more stringent environmental requirements would likely increase our costs of transportation and storage of raw materials and finished products, as well as the costs of storage and disposal of wastes. Additionally, we may incur substantial costs, including penalties, fines, damages, criminal or civil sanctions and remediation costs for the failure to comply with these laws or permit requirements.

Fluctuations in currency exchange rates may significantly impact our results of operations and may significantly affect the comparability of our results between financial periods.

Our operations are conducted by subsidiaries in many countries. The results of the operations and the financial position of these subsidiaries are reported in the relevant foreign currencies and then translated into U.S. dollars at the applicable exchange rates for inclusion in our consolidated financial statements. The main currency to which we are exposed is the euro, noting that approximately 60% of our net sales were generated in Europe for the year ended December 31, 2018. To a lesser degree, we are also exposed to other currencies, including the Chinese yuan, Swiss franc, and Indonesian rupiah. The exchange rates between these currencies and the U.S. dollar in recent years have fluctuated significantly and may continue to do so in the future. A depreciation of these currencies against the U.S. dollar, in particular the euro, will decrease the U.S. dollar equivalent of the amounts derived from these operations reported in our consolidated financial statements and an appreciation of these currencies will result in a corresponding increase in such amounts. Because some of our raw material costs are procured in U.S. dollars rather than on these currencies, depreciation of these currencies may have an adverse effect on our profit margins or our reported results of operations. Conversely, to the extent that we are required to pay for goods or services in foreign currencies, the appreciation of such currencies against the U.S. dollar will tend to negatively impact our results of operations. In addition, currency fluctuations may affect the comparability of our results of operations between financial periods.

We incur currency translation risk whenever we enter into either a purchase or sale transaction using a currency other than the local currency of the transacting entity. From time to time, we enter into foreign exchange forward contracts to hedge fluctuations associated with certain monetary assets and liabilities, primarily accounts receivable, accounts payable and certain intercompany obligations. However, attempts to hedge against foreign currency fluctuation risk may be unsuccessful and result in an adverse impact to our operating results. Given the volatility of exchange rates, there can be no assurance that we will be able to effectively manage our currency translation risks or that any volatility in currency exchange rates will not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

Our business relies on intellectual property and other proprietary information and our failure to adequately protect or effectively enforce our rights could harm our competitive advantages with respect to the manufacturing of some of our products.

Our success depends to a significant degree upon our ability to protect, preserve and enforce our intellectual property rights, including patents, trademarks, licenses, trade secrets and other proprietary information of our business. However, we may be unable to prevent third parties from using our intellectual property and other proprietary information without our authorization or independently developing intellectual property and other proprietary information that is similar to or competes with ours. Any inability by us to effectively prevent the unauthorized use of our intellectual property and other proprietary information by others could reduce or eliminate any competitive advantage we have developed, cause us to lose sales or otherwise harm our business or goodwill. If it becomes necessary for us to initiate litigation to protect our proprietary rights, any proceedings could be burdensome and costly, and we may not prevail.

We may be unable to determine when third parties are using our intellectual property rights without our authorization, particularly our manufacturing processes. In addition, we cannot be certain that any intellectual property rights that we have licensed to third parties are being used only as authorized by the applicable license agreement. The undetected, unremedied, or unauthorized use of our intellectual property rights or the legitimate development or acquisition of intellectual property that is similar to or competes with ours by third parties could reduce or eliminate the competitive advantage we have as a result of our intellectual property, adversely affecting our financial condition and results of operations.

If we fail to adequately protect our intellectual property and other proprietary information, including our processes, apparatuses, technology, trade secrets, trade names and proprietary manufacturing know how, methods and compounds, through obtaining patent protection, securing trademark registrations and securing our trade secrets through the use of confidentiality agreements of appropriate scope and other means, our competitive advantages over other producers could be materially adversely affected. If we determine to take legal action to protect, defend or enforce our intellectual property rights, any suits or proceedings could result in significant costs and diversion of our resources and our management’s attention. We may not prevail in any such suits or proceedings. A failure to protect, defend or enforce our intellectual property rights could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our products may infringe the intellectual property rights of others, which may cause us to incur unexpected costs or prevent us from selling our products.

Many of our competitors have a substantial amount of intellectual property that we must continually strive to avoid infringing as we improve our own business processes and develop new products and applications. Although it is our policy and intention not to infringe valid patents of which we are aware, we cannot provide assurances that our processes and products and other activities do not and will not infringe issued patents (whether present or future) or other intellectual property rights belonging to others. There nonetheless could be third-party patents that cover our products, processes or technologies, and it is possible that we could be liable for infringement of such patents and could be required to take remedial or curative actions to continue our manufacturing and sales activities with respect to one or more products that are found to be infringing. We may also be subject to indemnity claims by our business partners arising out of claims of their alleged infringement of the patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights of third parties in connection with their use of our products. Intellectual property litigation often is expensive and time-consuming, regardless of the merits of any claim, and our involvement in such litigation could divert our management’s attention from operating our business. If we were to discover that any of our processes, technologies or products infringe on the valid intellectual property rights of others, we may not be able to obtain the necessary licenses on acceptable terms, or at all, or be able to modify our processes or technologies or re-engineer our products in a manner that is successful in avoiding infringement. Moreover, if we are sued for infringement and lose, we could be required to pay substantial damages and/or be enjoined from using or selling the infringing products or technology. Any of the foregoing could cause us to incur significant costs and prevent us from selling our products and could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Data security breaches could compromise sensitive information related to our business or the private information of our employees, vendors, and customers, which could adversely affect our business and our reputation.

Cyberattacks or data security breaches could compromise confidential, private, business critical information or cause a failure in our computer or operating systems that may disrupt our operations. We have attractive information assets, including intellectual property, trade secrets and other sensitive, business critical information. We face an ever growing risk of attack from outside our organization (including attack by organized crime, so-called “hacktivists,” and state-sponsored actors) using sophisticated technical and non-technical methodologies (including social engineering and “spear phishing” attacks). We also face risks from internal threats to information security, such as from negligent or dishonest employees or consultants. A successful cyberattack or other breach of security could result in the loss of critical business information and/or could negatively impact operations, which could have a negative impact on our financial results. Furthermore, in addition to using our own systems and infrastructure, we use information systems and infrastructure operated by third-party service providers, including Dow. If our third-party service providers experience an information security breach, depending on the nature of the breach, it could compromise confidential, business critical information or cause a disruption in our operations. In addition, the loss or disclosure of sensitive or private information about our employees, vendors, or customers as a result of such a breach may result in violations of various data privacy regulations and expose us to litigation, fines and other penalties. Therefore, any such disruptions to our operations or violations of data privacy laws could negatively impact our reputation and results of operations.

Risks Related to Our Ordinary Shares

We are a Luxembourg company and, as a result, shareholders may have difficulty effecting service of process or litigation against us or our officers and directors.

We are organized under the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Many of our assets are located outside the United States and some of our directors and officers reside outside the United States and most of their assets are located outside the United States. As a result, investors may find it more difficult to effect service of process within the United States upon us or these persons or to enforce outside the United States judgments obtained against us or these persons in U.S. courts, including judgments in actions predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws. Likewise, it may also be difficult for an investor to enforce in U.S. courts judgments obtained against us or these persons in courts located in jurisdictions outside the United States, including actions predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws. It may also be difficult for an investor to bring an original action in a Luxembourg court predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us or these persons. Luxembourg law does not recognize a shareholder’s right to bring a derivative action on behalf of a company. 

Item 1B.    Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

 Item 2.    Properties 

We own and operate 61 production units at 16 sites around the world. In addition, we source products from another 14 production units at 7 joint venture sites. We also own or lease other properties, including office buildings, warehouses, research and development facilities, testing facilities and sales offices.

The following table sets forth a list of our principal offices, production sites and other facilities as of December 31, 2018:

 

*Facility co-located with Dow facilities under ground lease agreements. Plant facilities are owned by us.

+Facility located on property owned by the applicable government.

++Facility located on property under certification with right to build.

 

We believe that our properties and equipment are generally in good operating condition and are adequate for our present needs. Production capacity at our sites can vary depending upon product mix and operating conditions.

Our global production facilities are certified to ISO 9001 standards. Our manufacturing facilities have established reliability and maintenance programs and leverage production between sites to maximize efficiency.

Our plants have similar layouts, technology and manufacturing processes, depending upon the product being manufactured. We believe this global uniformity creates a key competitive advantage for us and helps lower overall operating costs.

Item 3.    Legal Proceedings 

From time to time we may be subject to various legal claims and proceedings incidental to the normal conduct of business, relating to such matters as product liability, antitrust, competition, waste disposal practices, release of chemicals into the environment and other matters that may arise in the ordinary course of our business. We currently believe that there is no litigation pending that is likely to have a material adverse effect on our business. Regardless of the outcome, legal proceedings can have an adverse impact on us because of defense and settlement costs, diversion of management resources and other factors.

Item 4.    Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

PART II

Item 5.    Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Shareholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities 

The principal market on which our ordinary shares is traded is the New York Stock Exchange, under the ticker symbol “TSE.” As of February 25, 2019, there were three record holders of our ordinary shares and 48,777,934 ordinary shares issued and 41,289,829 ordinary shares outstanding. By including persons holding shares in broker accounts under street names, however, we estimate that we have approximately 23,993 beneficial holders.

Performance Graph

The following performance graph reflects the comparative changes in the value from June 12, 2014, the first trading day of our ordinary shares on the NYSE, through December 31, 2018, assuming an initial investment of $100 and the reinvestment of dividends or other cash distributions, if any, in (1) our ordinary shares, (2) the S&P 500 Index, and (3) the S&P 500 Chemicals Industry GICS Level 3 Index. The share price performance shown in the graph is not necessarily indicative of future price performance.

Purchases of equity securities by the Company and affiliated purchasers

The following table provides information regarding purchases of the Company’s ordinary shares by the Company during the three months ended December 31, 2018:

(1)The general meeting of our shareholders on June 21, 2017 authorized the Company to repurchase up to 4.0 million ordinary shares at a price per share of not less than $1.00 and not more than $1,000. This authorization ends on June 21, 2020 or on the date of its renewal or replacement by a subsequent general meeting of shareholders. On June 22, 2017 the Company announced that the board of directors had authorized the Company to repurchase, subject to market and other conditions, up to 2.0 million shares over the subsequent 18 months under the 2017 share repurchase authorization. The Company concluded on the repurchase of the initial 2.0 million ordinary shares under this board authorization in October 2018. On November 8, 2018 the Company subsequently announced that the board of directors had authorized the Company to repurchase, subject to market and other conditions, the 2.0 million shares remaining under the 2017 share repurchase authorization.

Luxembourg Tax Considerations

Tax Regime Applicable to Capital Gains Realized Upon Disposal of Shares

The following is a summary discussion of the material Luxembourg tax considerations of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of your ordinary shares that may be applicable to you. It is not intended to be, nor should it be construed to be, legal or tax advice. This discussion is based on Luxembourg laws and regulations as they stand on the date of this report and is subject to any change in law or regulations or changes in interpretation or application thereof (and which may possibly have a retroactive effect). Investors should therefore consult their own professional advisers as to the effects of state, local or foreign laws and regulations, including Luxembourg tax law and regulations, to which they may be subject. As used herein, a “Luxembourg individual” means an individual resident in Luxembourg who is subject to personal income tax (impôt sur le revenu) on his or her worldwide income from Luxembourg or foreign sources, and a “Luxembourg corporate holder” means a company (that is, a fully taxable collectivité within the meaning of Article 159 of the Luxembourg Income Tax Law) resident in Luxembourg subject to corporate income tax (impôt sur le revenu des collectivités) on its worldwide income from Luxembourg or foreign sources. For purposes of this discussion, Luxembourg individuals and Luxembourg corporate holders of our ordinary shares are collectively referred to as “Luxembourg Holders.” A “non-Luxembourg Holder” means any investor in our ordinary shares other than a Luxembourg Holder.

Luxembourg individual holders. For Luxembourg individuals holding (together, directly or indirectly, with his or her spouse or civil partner or minor children) 10% or less of the share capital of Trinseo, capital gains will only be taxable if they are realized on a sale of shares, which takes place before their acquisition or within the first six months following their acquisition. The capital gain or liquidation proceeds will be taxed at progressive income tax rates. 

For Luxembourg individuals holding (together with his/her spouse or civil partner and minor children) directly or indirectly more than 10% of the capital of Trinseo, capital gains will be taxable at a special rate, if the disposal or liquidation takes place:

Luxembourg corporate holders. Capital gains realized upon the disposal of shares by a Luxembourg corporate holder will in principle be subject to corporate income tax and municipal business tax. The combined applicable rate for Luxembourg corporate holders with taxable income in excess of EUR 30,000 will be 26.01% for fiscal year ended 2019 for a Luxembourg corporate holder established in Luxembourg-City. An exemption from such taxes may be available to the Luxembourg corporate holder pursuant to Article 166 of the Luxembourg Income Tax law subject to the fulfillment of the conditions set forth therein. The scope of the capital gains exemption may be limited in the cases provided by the Grand Ducal Decree of December 21, 2001. 

Non-Luxembourg Holders

An individual non-Luxembourg Holder of shares will only be subject to Luxembourg taxation on capital gains arising upon disposal of such shares if such holder has (together with his or her spouse or civil partner and underage children) directly or indirectly held more than 10% of the capital of Trinseo, at any time during the five years preceding the disposal, and either (i) such holder has been a resident of Luxembourg for tax purposes for at least 15 years and has become a non-resident within the five years preceding the realization of the gain, subject to any applicable tax treaty, or (ii) the disposal of shares occurs within six months from their acquisition (or prior to their actual acquisition), subject to any applicable tax treaty. If we and a U.S. relevant holder are eligible for the benefits of the Convention Between the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Government of the United States for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income and Capital (the “Luxembourg-U.S. Treaty”), such U.S. relevant holder generally should not be subject to Luxembourg tax on the gain from the disposal of such shares unless such gain is attributable to a permanent establishment of such U.S. relevant holder in Luxembourg. Subject to any restrictions imposed by the substantially and regularly traded clause in the limitation on benefits article of the Luxembourg-U.S. treaty, we expect to be eligible for the benefits of the Luxembourg-U.S. Treaty.

A corporate non-Luxembourg Holder (that is, a collectivité within the meaning of Article 159 of the Luxembourg Income Tax Law), which has a permanent establishment, a permanent representative or fixed place of business in Luxembourg to which shares would be attributable, will bear corporate income tax and municipal business tax on a gain realized on a disposal of such shares as set forth above for a Luxembourg corporate holder. However, gains realized on the sale of the shares may benefit from the full exemption provided for by Article 166 of the Luxembourg Income Tax Law and by the Grand Ducal Decree of December 21, 2001 subject in each case to fulfillment of the conditions set out therein.

A corporate non-Luxembourg Holder, which has a permanent establishment, permanent representative or fixed place of business in Luxembourg to which the shares would be attributable will not be subject to any Luxembourg tax on a gain realized on a disposal of such shares unless such holder holds, directly or through tax transparent entities, more than 10% of the share capital of Trinseo, and the disposal of shares occurs within six months from their acquisition (or prior to their actual acquisition), subject to any applicable tax treaty. If we and a U.S. corporate holder without a permanent establishment in Luxembourg are eligible for the benefits of the Luxembourg-U.S. Treaty, such U.S. corporate holder generally should not be subject to Luxembourg tax on the gain from the disposal of such shares.

Tax Regime Applicable to Distributions

Withholding Tax. Dividend distributions by Trinseo are subject to a withholding tax of 15%. Distributions by the Company sourced from a reduction of capital as defined in Article 97 (3) of the Luxembourg Income Tax Law including, among others, share premium should not be subject to withholding tax provided that such reduction of capital is

motivated by serious business reasons as meant in said provision. We or the applicable paying agent will withhold on a distribution if required by applicable law.

Where a withholding needs to be applied, the rate of the withholding tax may be reduced pursuant to the double tax treaty existing between Luxembourg and the country of residence of the relevant holder, subject to the fulfillment of the conditions set forth therein. If we and a U.S. relevant holder are eligible for the benefits of the Luxembourg-U.S. Treaty, the rate of withholding on distributions generally is 15% or 5% if the U.S. relevant holder is a beneficial owner that owns at least 10% of our voting shares. 

No withholding tax applies if the distribution is made to (i) a Luxembourg resident corporate holder (that is, a fully taxable collectivité within the meaning of Article 159 of the Luxembourg Income Tax Law), (ii) a corporation which is resident of a Member State of the EU and is referred to by article 2 of the Council Directive of July 23, 1990 concerning the common fiscal regime applicable to parent and subsidiary companies of different member states (90/435/EEC), (iii) a corporation or a cooperative resident in Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and subject to a tax comparable to corporate income tax as provided by Luxembourg Income Tax Law, (iv) a corporation resident in Switzerland which is subject to corporate income tax in Switzerland without benefiting from an exemption, (v) a corporation subject to a tax comparable to corporate income tax as provided by Luxembourg Income Tax Law which is resident in a country that has concluded a tax treaty with Luxembourg and (vi) a Luxembourg permanent establishment of one of the above-mentioned categories, provided each time that at the date of payment, the holder has held or commits itself to continue to hold directly or through a tax transparent vehicle, during an uninterrupted period of at least twelve months, shares representing at least 10% of the share capital of Trinseo or which had an acquisition price of at least EUR 1,200,000.

Equity Repayment. The repayment of equity, by the Company is not treated as a dividend distribution under Luxembourg law, and therefore is not subject to any withholding tax, provided: (i) the Company has no statutory reserves or profits at the Company level, and (ii) the capital decrease is motivated by sound business reasons. The Company did not have any statutory profits or reserves as of December 31, 2018. In case the Company does not have sound business reasons to provide a repayment of equity, the entire amount repaid will be subject to a 15% withholding tax, unless the conditions for an exemption or a reduction from the withholding tax on dividends set forth above are met. 

Luxembourg Holders

Dividend and liquidation proceeds are in principle taxable at the general income tax rates indicated above. A partial dividend exemption may be available to Luxembourg Holders pursuant to Article 115.15a of the Luxembourg Income Tax law or a full dividend exemption may be available to a Luxembourg corporate holder pursuant to Article 166 of the Luxembourg Income Tax law, subject to the fulfillment of the conditions set forth therein.

Non-Luxembourg Holders

Non-Luxembourg holders of the shares who have neither a permanent establishment, permanent representative nor a fixed place of business in Luxembourg to which the shares would be attributable are not liable for any Luxembourg tax on dividends paid on the shares, other than a potential withholding tax as described above.

Net Wealth Tax

Luxembourg Holders

Luxembourg net wealth tax will not be levied on a Luxembourg Holder with respect to the shares held unless the Luxembourg Holder is an entity subject to net wealth tax in Luxembourg.

Net wealth tax is levied annually at the rate of 0.5% on the net wealth up to 500 million euros for an enterprise resident in Luxembourg, as determined for net wealth tax purposes. The shares may be exempt from net wealth tax subject to the conditions set forth by Article 60 of the Law of October 16, 1934 on the valuation of assets (Bewertungsgesetz), as amended.

Non-Luxembourg Holders

Luxembourg net wealth tax will not be levied on a non-Luxembourg Holder with respect to the shares held unless the shares are attributable to an enterprise or part thereof which is carried on through a permanent establishment or a permanent representative in Luxembourg.

Stamp and Registration Taxes

No registration tax or stamp duty will be payable by a holder of shares in Luxembourg solely upon the disposal of shares or by sale or exchange.

Item 6.    Selected Financial Data 

The following tables set forth our selected historical financial and operating data and other information. The historical results of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, and the historical balance sheet data as of December 31, 2018 and 2017 presented below were derived from our audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto included elsewhere within this Annual Report. The historical results of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 and the historical balance sheet data as of December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014 were derived from our audited financial statements and the related notes thereto not included within this Annual Report. As a result of accounting guidance adopted in 2018 related to pension accounting, certain prior period financial information included in the sections below has been recast to conform to the current year presentation. Refer to Note 2 in the consolidated financial statements for further information. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for any future periods.

You should read the information contained in this table in conjunction with Item 7—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and the audited financial statements and the related notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

Definitions of capitalized terms not defined herein appear in the notes to our consolidated financial statements.

 

 

 

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations  

The following discussion summarizes the significant factors affecting the operating results, financial condition, liquidity and cash flows of our Company as of and for the periods presented below. The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with Item 6 — “Selected Financial Data” and the audited consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes thereto, included elsewhere within this Annual Report. The statements in this discussion regarding industry outlook, our expectations regarding our future performance, liquidity and capital resources and all other non-historical statements in this discussion are forward-looking statements and are based on the beliefs of our management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, our management and are made as of the date of this Annual Report.  See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” Actual results could differ materially from those discussed in or implied by forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those discussed below and elsewhere within this Annual Report, particularly in Item 1A—“Risk Factors.” Definitions of capitalized terms not defined herein appear in the notes to our consolidated financial statements.

2018 Highlights

For the year ended December 31, 2018, we had net income of $292.5 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $573.2 million. Trinseo noted strong performance for much of 2018. However, we finished 2018 with lower than anticipated profitability due to challenging market dynamics and economic conditions toward the end of the year, particularly in November and December. Despite this, the Company delivered strong cash generation throughout 2018 and returned significant cash to our shareholders, purchasing approximately 2.2 million ordinary shares for an aggregate purchase price of $142.9 million and declaring quarterly dividends for an aggregate value of $1.56 per ordinary share, or $67.2

million. Refer to “Non-GAAP Performance Measures” below for further discussion of our use of non-GAAP measures in evaluating our performance. Other highlights of 2018 are described below.

Chief Executive Officer Transition

On December 11, 2018, the Company announced that our President and Chief Executive Officer, Christopher D. Pappas, intended to retire in 2019. On January 30, 2019, the Company named Frank A. Bozich the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, effective March 4, 2019, at which time Mr. Pappas will assume the role of Special Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer in order to support Mr. Bozich’s transition.

Term Loan Repricing

During the second quarter of 2018, the Company executed a repricing of our 2024 Term Loan B, thereby reducing the stated interest rate on this facility from the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) plus 2.50% to LIBOR plus 2.00% (subject to a 0.00% LIBOR floor in both instances). At current LIBOR, the Company expects an aggregate cash interest savings from this repricing of $3.5 million annually.

New Segmentation

Through December 31, 2017, the Company operated under six reporting segments: Latex Binders, Synthetic Rubber, Performance Plastics, Basic Plastics, Feedstocks, and Americas Styrenics. Effective January 1, 2018, the Company realigned our reporting segments to reflect the new model under which the business is being managed and results are being reviewed by the Chief Executive Officer, who is the Company’s chief operating decision maker.

Under this new segmentation, we present operating results for six segments, four of which remain unchanged from the Company’s prior segmentation: Latex Binders, Synthetic Rubber, Feedstocks, and Americas Styrenics. The results of our Polystyrene business, which were previously included within the Basic Plastics segment, are now reported as a stand-alone segment. Performance Plastics, which previously consisted of compounds, blends, and ABS products sold to the automotive market, now includes the remaining portion of our ABS business, as well as the results of our SAN and PC businesses. This segmentation change provides enhanced clarity to investors by concentrating the Company’s more specialized plastics into a single reporting segment, while also reducing complexity as PC and ABS are the primary inputs into the downstream production of our compounds and blends.

Prior period financial information included within this Annual Report has been recast from its previous presentation to reflect the Company’s new organizational structure.

SSBR Capacity Expansion and Pilot Plant

During the first quarter of 2018, the Company completed the initial phase of the 50 KT SSBR capacity expansion at the Schkopau, Germany facility, and also opened a new SSBR pilot plant at this same facility which will expedite the product development process from lab sample to commercialization by delivering sufficient quantities of new formulations without the need to interrupt production in our industrial lines.

 

Results of Operations

Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016

The table below sets forth our historical results of operations, and these results as a percentage of net sales for the periods indicated. As a result of accounting guidance adopted in 2018 related to pension accounting, certain prior period financial information included in the sections below has been recast to conform to the current year presentation. Refer to Note 2 in the consolidated financial statements for further information.

2018 vs. 2017

Net Sales

The 4% increase in net sales was primarily due to currency impacts as the euro strengthened in comparison to the U.S. dollar in 2018. Overall, the impact of sales volumes was not significant, as increases in the Performance Plastics and Polystyrene segments were offset by decreases in the Feedstocks, Latex Binders, and Synthetic Rubber segments. Additionally, selling prices did not have a significant effect on net sales, as increases in the Performance Plastics, Polystyrene, and Feedstocks segments were fully offset by decreases in the Synthetic Rubber and Latex Binders segments.

Cost of Sales

Of the 8% increase in cost of sales, 4% was due to currency impacts as the euro strengthened in comparison to the U.S. dollar in 2018. Additionally, 3% of the increase was due to higher raw material costs, particularly styrene and BPA, as well as higher utility costs. Overall, the impact of sales volumes was not significant, as increases in the Performance Plastics and Polystyrene segments were offset by decreases within the Feedstocks, Latex Binders, and Synthetic Rubber segments.

Gross Profit

The decrease in gross profit of 17% was primarily attributable to weaker results within the Performance Plastics, Latex Binders, Polystyrene, and Synthetic Rubber segments. The weaker results were mainly due to lower margins, which were partially offset by higher sales volumes in the Performance Plastics and Polystyrene segments, as well as favorable currency impacts as the euro strengthened in comparison to the U.S. dollar in 2018. Refer to the segment discussion below for further information.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

The $19.5 million, or 8%, increase in selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) is due to several factors. Higher advisory and professional fees resulted in a $14.9 million increase in external spend, primarily related to fees incurred in conjunction with the Company’s recently initiated project to complete the transition of business and technical services from Dow, as well as fees related to certain growth initiatives. Additionally, approximately $4.3 million of the increase was due to currency impacts on our euro-based expenses, as the euro strengthened in comparison to the U.S. dollar, with an additional $3.8 million of depreciation expense compared to the prior year. Also contributing to this increase was $1.3 million in additional restructuring charges incurred compared to the prior year (refer to Note 20 in the consolidated financial statements for further information). Partially offsetting these increases was a reduction of