KINGSPORT â Eastman Chemical announced higher revenues and earnings in its first quarter report on Thursday.
âWe delivered outstanding first quarter results, with adjusted EPS (earnings per share) up 20% compared with first quarter 2019 and up 5% compared with strong first-quarter 2020 results,â said Mark Costa, Eastman board chair and CEO. âFirst-quarter results included approximately $30 million of costs from the impact of Winter Storm Uri. The combination of continued disciplined operational execution, the diversity of our end markets, and the benefit of our innovation-driven growth model positioned Eastman well for the return of economic growth. In addition, our focus on cash generation resulted in record first-quarter free cash flow that was well above last year. While economic growth has returned, the threat from COVID-19 per- sists, and we remain diligent in our efforts to keep our employees safe and maintain the operational integrity of our facilities.â