Grace expects $7M in lost earnings after Middle East strife

Daily Record Staff//October 1, 2019//

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FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019 file photo, made from a video broadcast on the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya satellite news channel, smoke from a fire at the Abqaiq oil processing facility fills the skyline, in Buqyaq, Saudi Arabia. The weekend drone attack on one of the world's largest crude oil processing plants that dramatically cut into global oil supplies is the most visible sign yet of how Aramco's stability and security is directly linked to that of its owner -- the Saudi government and its ruling family. (Al-Arabiya via AP, File) — FILE – In this Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019 file photo, made from a video broadcast on the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya satellite news channel, smoke from a fire at the Abqaiq oil processing facility fills the skyline, in Buqyaq, Saudi Arabia. (Al-Arabiya via AP, File)

W. R. Grace and Co., a Columbia-based supplier of catalysts and engineered materials, said its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings would be between $7 million and $8 million lower than expected because of the mid-September attacks on Saudi oil and gas production facilities in the Middle East.

Hudson La Force, Grace’s President and CEO, said in a news release that some of the company’s petrochemical and refining customers had a shortage of raw materials, which led them to slow their operating rates and cut back on their use of the company’s catalysts. Because of that, the company expects to see reduced sales and earnings in the fourth quarter, La Force said. No third-quarter impact was expected.

The United States, Britain, France and Germany blame Iran for the attacks. Iran blames the attack on Yemeni rebels.

Tags: w.r. grace and co., saudi arabia

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