Westlake Corp at Bank of America Global Agriculture and Materials Conference Summary

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Salvator Tiano - BofA Securities - Analyst : Perfect. Thank you very much. So while you're here with us Fort Lauderdale, I believe the rest of the executive team is in Las Vegas for the Building Products show. So can you tell us a little bit about what they and what Westlake are doing there, some of the products you're showcasing, innovations, what you're looking to get out of the show?

Question: Salvator Tiano - BofA Securities - Analyst : Perfect. And I know Steve was there two years ago, and he was talking about how you had so much larger booth than any other company we cover there. I guess beyond customers, is this also opportunity for you to find partners or even potentially acquisition targets?

Question: Salvator Tiano - BofA Securities - Analyst : Perfect. So can you also talk a little bit about, I guess, what is Westlake's winning form in Building Products? Because in the past couple of years, you've delivered certainly better-than-expected results in this business in what has been a flattish or even negative market in some case. And this year, just on Monday, when you have your results, you guided to another year of 5% to 7% growth, at least for Royal Building Products, where I think everybody again expects end markets to be flattish.

Question: Salvator Tiano - BofA Securities - Analyst : Perfect. I want to ask about two opportunities or actually, potential risks here for the building products business. So firstly, you have a pretty big presence in roofing and siding. Bank of America credit card data shows that within the broader Building Products group, this is one of the few categories that are very well and selling well beyond pre-COVID levels as opposed to things such as flooring, appliances, mattresses. How big has this mix shift, I guess, been as a driver for you? And is there any risk it could reverse with consumer spending changing patterns?

Question: Salvator Tiano - BofA Securities - Analyst : Perfect. And the other one is pipes and fittings. We've seen some numbers showing kind of a simplistic spread between the price of pipes and fittings on a per pound basis versus the price of PVC resin. And I would say this spread has expanded by several multiples in the past few years. How big of a driver has this been for your margin expansion, with your EBITDA margin being well above what you have guided in the past, being a normalized level. What drove this margin expansion? And also, what's the risk that things could normalize in the next few years?

Question: Salvator Tiano - BofA Securities - Analyst : Great. Shifting to the performance and essential materials business. Just wanted to get a little bit, firstly, your thoughts on PVC pricing. You have nominations for $0.05 in February and $0.03 or $0.04, I believe, in March. Both CDI and the CMA expect $0.02 in February and $0.01 in March. So what gives you confidence that the higher number will go through the next?

Question: Salvator Tiano - BofA Securities - Analyst : Great. So you just reported your results on Monday. And I think the most surprising thing for us and a bunch of investors was that the PEM segment had actually an EBIT loss. I think it was $41 million plus some adjustments in there. And for a company that has a very US oriented footprint, almost exclusively on ethane and natural gas, so I would say more advantaged than most of your petrochemical peers that have international operations as well, this was a little bit tough to explain, to understand for us. So can you talk a little bit about what drove this EBIT loss?

Question: Salvator Tiano - BofA Securities - Analyst : Okay. Perfect. You mentioned epoxy towards the end. How tough is the situation there? And can you talk a little bit about your current footprint and what can be done post the closure of your epichlorohydrin facility in the Netherlands? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. FEBRUARY 27, 2025 / 2:45PM, WLK.N - Westlake Corp at Bank of America Global Agriculture and Materials Conference

Question: Salvator Tiano - BofA Securities - Analyst : Perfect. And as we're about to wrap up, I have one final question, which is on buybacks. With over 70% insider ownership, that has always been a little bit tough for Westlake to do even though your leverage is very low. We saw that you did $60 million, I believe, in Q4. So how should we think about buybacks both near term for 2025 and also as a long-term capital allocation opportunity?

Question: Salvator Tiano - BofA Securities - Analyst : Great, John. Thank you very much.