mch10q-093008.htm
Table of Contents
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-Q
[ü]
|
QUARTERLY
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
|
|
SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the
quarterly period ended September 30, 2008
OR
[ ]
|
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 1-12091
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
|
22-3436215
|
(State
or other jurisdiction of
|
(I.R.S.
Employer
|
incorporation
or organization)
|
Identification
No.)
|
|
|
Two
Greenville Crossing, 4001 Kennett Pike
|
19807
|
Suite
238, Greenville, Delaware
|
(Zip
Code)
|
(Address
of principal executive offices)
|
|
Registrant's
telephone number, including area code: (713) 652-7200
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 ü
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting
company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated
filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange
Act. (Check one):Large accelerated filer
__ Accelerated filer __
Non-accelerated
filer ü Smaller
reporting company __
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Yes __ No
ü
Number of
shares of common stock outstanding as of September 30,
2008: 661. There is no established public trading
market for the registrant’s common stock.
The
Registrant meets the conditions set forth in General Instructions H(1)(a) and
(b) of Form 10-Q and, therefore, is filing this form with a reduced disclosure
format.
PART
I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
ITEM
1. CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF INCOME
|
|
Successor
|
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
|
Successor
|
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
|
|
For
the three months ended
|
|
|
For
the nine months ended
|
|
|
|
September
30,
|
|
|
September
30,
|
|
Millions of
dollars
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
Sales
and other operating revenues:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trade
|
|
$ |
173 |
|
|
$ |
149 |
|
|
$ |
529 |
|
|
$ |
429 |
|
Related
parties
|
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
13 |
|
|
|
58 |
|
|
|
46 |
|
|
|
|
188 |
|
|
|
162 |
|
|
|
587 |
|
|
|
475 |
|
Operating
costs and expenses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cost
of sales
|
|
|
172 |
|
|
|
136 |
|
|
|
495 |
|
|
|
400 |
|
Selling,
general and administrative expenses
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
25 |
|
|
|
49 |
|
Research
and development expenses
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
|
180 |
|
|
|
152 |
|
|
|
522 |
|
|
|
452 |
|
Operating
income
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
65 |
|
|
|
23 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest
expense:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Related
parties
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
Interest
expense on push-down debt
|
|
|
(6 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(21 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
Millennium
debt
|
|
|
(6 |
) |
|
|
(5 |
) |
|
|
(18 |
) |
|
|
(43 |
) |
Interest
income:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Related
parties
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
10 |
|
Other
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
7 |
|
Other
income (expense), net
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
(15 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income
(loss) from continuing operations before
equity
investment and income taxes
|
|
|
(6 |
) |
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
26 |
|
|
|
(18 |
) |
Income
(loss) from equity investment
in
Equistar Chemicals, LP
|
|
|
23 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
(73 |
) |
|
|
12 |
|
Effect
of push-down debt on income (loss) from equity investment in Equistar
Chemicals, LP
|
|
|
(23 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
73 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
Income
(loss) from continuing operations
before
income taxes
|
|
|
(6 |
) |
|
|
22 |
|
|
|
26 |
|
|
|
(6 |
) |
Provision
for (benefit from) income taxes
|
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
13 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
Income
(loss) from continuing operations
|
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
17 |
|
|
|
(7 |
) |
Income
from discontinued operations, net of tax
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
297 |
|
Net
income (loss)
|
|
$ |
(3 |
) |
|
$ |
9 |
|
|
$ |
17 |
|
|
$ |
290 |
|
See Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
CONSOLIDATED
BALANCE SHEETS
Millions of dollars,
except shares and par value data
|
|
September
30,
2008
|
|
|
December
31,
2007
|
|
ASSETS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
assets:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
|
$ |
22 |
|
|
$ |
51 |
|
Short-term
investments
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
Accounts
receivable:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trade,
net
|
|
|
109 |
|
|
|
106 |
|
Related
parties
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
17 |
|
Inventories
|
|
|
111 |
|
|
|
104 |
|
Prepaid
expenses and other current assets
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
73 |
|
Deferred
tax assets
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
Notes
receivable from related party
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
80 |
|
Total
current assets
|
|
|
271 |
|
|
|
440 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Property,
plant and equipment, net
|
|
|
307 |
|
|
|
324 |
|
Investment
in Equistar Chemicals, LP:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Prior
to push-down debt
|
|
|
1,579 |
|
|
|
1,652 |
|
Effect
of push-down debt
|
|
|
(1,579 |
) |
|
|
(1,652 |
) |
Net
investment in Equistar Chemicals, LP
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
Other
investments and long-term receivables
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
16 |
|
Other
assets, net
|
|
|
176 |
|
|
|
179 |
|
Total
assets
|
|
$ |
770 |
|
|
$ |
959 |
|
See Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
CONSOLIDATED
BALANCE SHEETS – (Continued)
|
|
September
30,
|
|
|
December 31,
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
Millions of dollars,
except shares and par value data
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LIABILITIES
AND STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
liabilities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
maturities of long-term debt
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
158 |
|
Notes
payable to related party
|
|
|
22 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
Accounts
payable:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trade
|
|
|
68 |
|
|
|
79 |
|
Related
parties
|
|
|
17 |
|
|
|
23 |
|
Accrued
liabilities
|
|
|
64 |
|
|
|
75 |
|
Deferred
income taxes
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
Total
current liabilities
|
|
|
175 |
|
|
|
339 |
|
Long-term
debt:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Push
down
|
|
|
308 |
|
|
|
350 |
|
Debt
of Millennium
|
|
|
172 |
|
|
|
170 |
|
Other
liabilities
|
|
|
228 |
|
|
|
238 |
|
Deferred
income taxes
|
|
|
256 |
|
|
|
221 |
|
Commitments
and contingencies
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Minority
interest
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
7 |
|
Stockholder’s
equity:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Common
stock, $0.01 par value, 1,000 shares authorized,
661 shares issued at September 30, 2008 and December 31,
2007
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
Additional
paid-in capital
|
|
|
1,652 |
|
|
|
1,745 |
|
Retained
earnings (deficit)
|
|
|
11 |
|
|
|
(6 |
) |
Push
down debt
|
|
|
(1,949 |
) |
|
|
(2,015 |
) |
Treasury
stock, at cost, 48 shares issued at September 30, 2008
and
December 31,
2007
|
|
|
(90 |
) |
|
|
(90 |
) |
Total stockholder’s equity
|
|
|
(376 |
) |
|
|
(366 |
) |
Total
liabilities and stockholder’s equity
|
|
$ |
770 |
|
|
$ |
959 |
|
See Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
|
|
Successor
|
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
|
|
For
the nine months ended
September
30,
|
|
Millions of
dollars
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
Cash
flows from operating activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
income
|
|
$ |
17 |
|
|
$ |
290 |
|
Income
from discontinued operations, net of tax
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(297 |
) |
Adjustments
to reconcile net income to
cash
provided by (used in) operating activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Depreciation
and amortization
|
|
|
38 |
|
|
|
23 |
|
Equity
investment in Equistar Chemicals, LP –
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Amount
included in net income
|
|
|
73 |
|
|
|
(12 |
) |
Distribution
of earnings
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
12 |
|
Push-down
debt
|
|
|
(73 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
Interest
on push-down debt
|
|
|
21 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
Deferred
income taxes
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
23 |
|
Debt
prepayment premiums and charges
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
14 |
|
Changes
in assets and liabilities that provided (used) cash:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accounts
receivable
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
(3 |
) |
Inventories
|
|
|
(7 |
) |
|
|
(1 |
) |
Accounts
payable
|
|
|
(16 |
) |
|
|
(10 |
) |
Other,
net
|
|
|
(25 |
) |
|
|
(115 |
) |
Net
cash provided by (used in) operating activities – continuing
operations
|
|
|
26 |
|
|
|
(76 |
) |
Net
cash used in operating activities – discontinued
operations
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(120 |
) |
Net
cash provided by (used in) operating activities
|
|
|
26 |
|
|
|
(196 |
) |
Cash
flows from investing activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Collection
of related party notes receivable
|
|
|
80 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
Advances
under related party loan agreements
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(515 |
) |
Expenditures
for property, plant and equipment
|
|
|
(9 |
) |
|
|
(12 |
) |
Payments
to discontinued operations
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(104 |
) |
Distributions
from affiliates in excess of earnings
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
18 |
|
Proceeds
from sales of assets
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
Other
|
|
|
(5 |
) |
|
|
3 |
|
Net
cash provided by (used in) investing activities – continuing
operations
|
|
|
82 |
|
|
|
(610 |
) |
Net
proceeds from sale of discontinued operations
before
required repayment of debt
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1,089 |
|
Other
net cash provided by investing activities – discontinued
operations
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
89 |
|
Net
cash provided by investing activities
|
|
|
82 |
|
|
|
568 |
|
See Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS – (Continued)
|
|
Successor
|
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
|
|
For
the nine months ended
September
30,
|
|
Millions of
dollars
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
Cash
flows from financing activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Repayment
of long-term debt
|
|
|
(158 |
) |
|
|
(390 |
) |
Proceeds
from related party notes payable
|
|
|
22 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
Other
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
1 |
|
Net
cash used in financing activities – continuing operations
|
|
|
(137 |
) |
|
|
(389 |
) |
Debt
required to be repaid upon sale of discontinued operations
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(99 |
) |
Other
net cash provided by financing activities – discontinued
operations
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
23 |
|
Net
cash used in financing activities
|
|
|
(137 |
) |
|
|
(465 |
) |
Effect
of exchange rate changes on cash
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1 |
|
Decrease
in cash and cash equivalents
|
|
|
(29 |
) |
|
|
(92 |
) |
Cash
and cash equivalents at beginning of period
|
|
|
51 |
|
|
|
121 |
|
Cash
and cash equivalents at end of period
|
|
$ |
22 |
|
|
$ |
29 |
|
See Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1.
|
|
7
|
2.
|
|
9
|
3.
|
|
10
|
4.
|
|
11
|
5.
|
|
11
|
6.
|
|
13
|
7.
|
|
13
|
8.
|
|
15
|
9.
|
|
15
|
10.
|
|
15
|
11.
|
|
16
|
12.
|
|
16
|
13.
|
|
21
|
14.
|
|
20
|
15.
|
|
24
|
16.
|
|
24
|
17.
|
|
26
|
18.
|
|
32
|
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
The
accompanying consolidated financial statements are unaudited and have been
prepared from the books and records of Millennium Chemicals Inc. and its
subsidiaries (collectively, “Millennium”) in accordance with the instructions to
Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X for interim financial
information. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information
and notes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete
financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments,
consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, considered necessary for a fair
presentation have been included. For further information, refer to
the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the
Millennium Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2007. Certain previously reported amounts have been reclassified to
conform to current period presentation.
On
November 30, 2004, Lyondell Chemical Company (together with its
consolidated subsidiaries “Lyondell”) acquired Millennium in a stock-for-stock
business combination. As a result of the business combination,
Millennium is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lyondell.
On
May 15, 2007, Millennium completed the sale of its worldwide inorganic
chemicals business in a transaction valued at approximately $1.3 billion,
including the acquisition of working capital and assumption of certain
liabilities related directly to the business (see Note 5).
On
December 20, 2007, LyondellBasell Industries AF S.C.A. (formerly known as
Basell AF S.C.A.) indirectly acquired all of the shares of Lyondell common
stock. As a result, Lyondell and Millennium both became indirect,
wholly owned subsidiaries of LyondellBasell Industries AF S.C.A. (together with
its consolidated subsidiaries, “LyondellBasell Industries” and without Lyondell,
the “Basell Group”).
Prior to
the December 20, 2007 acquisition of Lyondell by LyondellBasell Industries,
Millennium owned 29.5% of Equistar Chemicals, LP (“Equistar”), which is a joint
venture with Lyondell. As part of the acquisition, Lyondell made a
contribution to Equistar of $1,703 million (see Note 7), resulting in
a decrease in Millennium’s ownership interest to 21%.
As a
result of the acquisition of Lyondell by LyondellBasell Industries on
December 20, 2007, Millennium’s assets and liabilities were revalued to
reflect the values assigned in LyondellBasell Industries’ accounting for the
purchase of Lyondell, resulting in a new basis of accounting. In
addition, Millennium has recognized in its financial statements
$308 million of debt at September 30, 2008 for which it is not the
primary obligor, but which it has guaranteed, and which was used by
LyondellBasell Industries in the acquisition of Lyondell, and the effects of its
share of debt similarly guaranteed by Equistar (collectively, “push-down debt”)
through a reduction to zero of the carrying value of its investment in
Equistar.
In Staff
Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”), Topic 5J, Push Down Basis of Accounting
Required in Certain Limited Circumstances, the Securities and Exchange
Commission requires, among other things, that, in situations where debt is used
to acquire substantially all of an acquiree’s common stock and the acquiree
guarantees the debt or pledges its assets as collateral for the debt, the debt
and related interest expense and debt issuance costs be reflected in, or “pushed
down” to, the acquiree’s financial statements.
Although
this presentation may not reflect the likely future demands on Millennium
resources for servicing the debt of LyondellBasell Industries, it provides an
indication of that financial position after considering the maximum possible
demand on Millennium resources relating to the debt incurred by LyondellBasell
Industries in its acquisition of Lyondell. To facilitate an
understanding of the impact on these consolidated financial statements, the
effects of push-down debt are segregated.
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
1. Basis
of Preparation – (Continued)
Millennium's
carrying value of push-down debt could be adjusted based on changes in its
consolidated net tangible assets, which impact the amount of Millennium's
guarantees, or by repayment of substantially all of the associated debt by
affiliates or by Millennium on an affiliate's behalf. Any adjustment to
the carrying value of push-down debt would result in a corresponding adjustment
to paid in capital.
Millennium's
investment in Equistar will continue to be carried at zero net value and no net
equity earnings or losses will be recognized until such time as Equistar incurs
positive partners’ capital, which may occur as a result of the repayment of
push-down debt by Equistar or its affiliates.
The
consolidated statements of income for the three and nine months ended
September 30, 2008 reflect post-acquisition depreciation and amortization
expense based on the new value of the related assets and interest expense that
resulted from the debt used to finance the acquisition; therefore, the financial
information for the periods prior to and subsequent to the acquisition on
December 20, 2007 is not generally comparable. To indicate the
application of a different basis of accounting for the period subsequent to the
acquisition, periods prior to the acquisition are designated “predecessor”
periods, and those subsequent to the acquisition are designated “successor”
periods.
Subsequent
to the acquisition of Lyondell, LyondellBasell Industries manages the cash and
liquidity of Millennium and its other subsidiaries as a single group and a
global cash pool. Substantially all of the group’s cash is managed
centrally, with operating subsidiaries participating through an intercompany
uncommitted revolving credit facility. The
majority of the operating subsidiaries of LyondellBasell Industries, including
Millennium and Equistar, have provided guarantees or collateral for the debt of
various LyondellBasell Industries subsidiaries totaling approximately
$23 billion at September 30, 2008 that was used primarily to acquire
Lyondell. Accordingly, Millennium's liquidity and capital
resources are integrated with LyondellBasell Industries.
The
current global financial crisis and recessionary concerns have created
substantial uncertainty for the global economy and the markets in which
LyondellBasell Industries, including Millennium,
operates. LyondellBasell Industries’ markets are experiencing a
softening of demand combined with continued unprecedented volatility in raw
material costs. During the fourth quarter of 2008, polymer demand in
major markets and spot prices for some of LyondellBasell Industries’ products
have declined significantly. In addition, demand for gasoline in
North America has declined substantially compared to the third quarter of 2007,
which in turn has reduced LyondellBasell Industries’ margins in its fuels
business. These conditions have also had a negative impact on trade
credit available to LyondellBasell Industries and its suppliers and
customers.
These
conditions, which are expected to continue during the fourth quarter of 2008 and
which may continue into 2009, could place further demands on LyondellBasell
Industries’ liquidity particularly in the first quarter when it historically has
had significant operating cash flow requirements for annual compensation costs,
property taxes, annual insurance premiums and annual rebate payments to
customers. In addition, LyondellBasell has two key debt compliance ratios based
on EBITDA that LyondellBasell Industries must continue to comply with in the
fourth quarter of 2008 and in each quarter of 2009 and thereafter.
LyondellBasell
Industries is taking steps to reduce costs, working capital and discretionary
capital spending, including the temporary idling of one of its U.S. Gulf Coast
ethylene facilities, representing 11 percent of its U.S. olefins capacity, and
reduction of operating rates of certain integrated cracker operations as well as
adjusting operating rates at its polymers facilities globally to optimize
working capital requirements. Furthermore, LyondellBasell Industries has
expanded its synergy program to a broader, more substantial cost reduction
program in anticipation of a potentially deeper economic downturn. As part of
this program, LyondellBasell Industries is evaluating all of its strategic
options with respect to asset utilization, including possible sales or other
monetization of some assets, and a restructuring of the organization, including
anticipated head count reductions of approximately 15 percent, to reduce
costs. LyondellBasell Industries expects full implementation of these
programs within the next 12 to 18 months, but the benefits of these programs may
not be realized until later periods. LyondellBasell Industries
expects to record a charge related to severance and related costs associated
with the reorganization in the fourth quarter of 2008 and charges related to
other costs associated with the potential impacts to LyondellBasell Industries’
assets as incurred.
LyondellBasell
Industries believes that, with lower raw material costs, the post-hurricane
restoration of substantially all of its U.S. Gulf Coast operations, the
anticipated early December 2008 restart of the second coker unit at the Houston
Refinery, reduced capital expenditures and the implementation of its cost
reduction initiatives, conditions will be such that LyondellBasell Industries
can comply with its debt covenants and that operating cash flows, together
with availability under various liquidity facilities, will be
adequate to meet anticipated future cash requirements, including scheduled debt
service obligations, necessary capital expenditures and ongoing operations, for
the foreseeable future. However, should demand for its products be
significantly below LyondellBasell Industries’ expectations, unplanned plant
outages occur or product margins compress below expectations, whether because
raw material prices return to the high levels experienced in the first part of
2008 or otherwise, LyondellBasell Industries’ cash flow could be lower than
expected or negative. While liquidity at the present time is
adequate, a sustained lower-than-expected or negative cash flow could result in
existing sources of liquidity not being adequate to fund operations and meet
debt service requirements. Failure to comply with quarterly debt
covenants will result in a default under LyondellBasell Industries’ loan
agreements. See "Effects of Breach" in Note 12.
The
consolidated financial statements of LyondellBasell Industries and Millennium
have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization
of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business.
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
On
April 25, 2008, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued
FASB Staff Position (“FSP”) FAS 142-3, Determination of the Useful Life of
Intangible Assets. This FSP amends the factors that
should be considered in developing renewal or extension assumptions used to
determine the useful life of a recognized intangible asset under FASB Statement
No. 142, Goodwill and
Other Intangible Assets in order to improve the consistency between the
useful life of a recognized intangible asset under Statement No. 142 and
the period of expected cash flows used to measure the fair value of the asset
under FASB Statement No. 141 (Revised 2007),
Business
Combinations, and other
U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. This FSP is effective for
Millennium beginning in 2009. Early adoption is
prohibited. Millennium does not expect the application of
FSP 142-3 to have a material effect on its consolidated financial
statements.
In March
2008, the FASB issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”)
No. 161, Disclosures
about Derivatives Instruments and Hedging Activities, which amends and
expands the disclosure requirements of SFAS 133, Accounting for Derivative
Instruments and Hedging Activities, by requiring qualitative disclosures
about objectives and strategies for using derivatives, quantitative disclosures
about fair value amounts of and gains and losses on derivative instruments, and
disclosures about credit-risk-related contingent features in derivative
agreements. SFAS No. 161 will be effective for Millennium
beginning in 2009. Millennium is currently evaluating the effect of
SFAS No. 161 on its disclosures.
In
December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 160, Noncontrolling Interests in
Consolidated Financial Statements – an amendment to ARB No. 51,
which establishes new accounting and disclosure requirements for noncontrolling,
or minority, interests, including their classification as a separate component
of equity and the adjustment of net income to include amounts attributable to
minority interests. SFAS No. 160 also establishes new accounting
standards requiring recognition of a gain or loss upon deconsolidation of a
subsidiary. SFAS No. 160 will be effective for Millennium
beginning in 2009, with earlier application prohibited.
Also in
December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 141 (revised 2007), Business Combinations, which
requires an acquiring entity to recognize all assets acquired and liabilities
assumed in a transaction at the acquisition date at fair value with limited
exceptions. SFAS No. 141 (revised 2007) will change the
accounting treatment for certain specific items, including: expensing of most
acquisition and restructuring costs; recording acquired contingent liabilities,
in-process research and development and noncontrolling, or minority, interests
at fair value; and recognizing changes in income tax valuations and
uncertainties after the acquisition date as income tax expense. SFAS
No. 141 (revised 2007) also includes new disclosure
requirements. For Millennium, SFAS No. 141 (revised 2007)
will apply to business combinations with acquisition dates beginning in
2009. Earlier adoption is prohibited.
Although
certain past transactions, including the acquisition of Lyondell by
LyondellBasell Industries, would have been accounted for differently under SFAS
No. 160 and SFAS No. 141 (revised 2007), application of these statements in
2009 will not affect historical amounts.
SFAS
No. 159, The Fair Value
Option for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities – Including an amendment of FASB Statement
No. 115,
which permits election of fair value to measure many financial instruments and
certain other items, was applicable to Millennium effective January 1,
2008. Millennium has elected not to apply the fair value option to
any assets or liabilities.
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
2. Accounting and Reporting
Changes –
(Continued)
In
September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 157, Fair Value
Measurements. The new standard defines fair value, establishes
a framework for its measurement and expands disclosures about such
measurements. In February 2008, the FASB issued FASB Staff Position
FAS 157-2, delaying the effective date of SFAS No. 157 for certain
nonfinancial assets and liabilities until January 1,
2009. Millennium is currently evaluating the effect to its
consolidated financial statements of prospectively applying the provisions of
SFAS No. 157 to those assets and liabilities.
Implementation
of the provisions of SFAS No. 157 to financial assets and liabilities
beginning January 1, 2008 did not have a material effect on Millennium’s
consolidated financial statements.
In
October 2008, the FASB issued FSP FAS 157-3, Determining the Fair Value of a
Financial Asset When the Market for That Asset is Not
Active. FSP FAS 157-3, which is effective
October 10, 2008, including prior periods for which financial statements
have not yet been issued, provides guidance on the application of SFAS
No. 157 in determining the fair value of a financial asset in the current
financial environment when the market for that financial asset is not
active. Millennium’s application of FSP FAS 157-3 did not have a
material effect on its consolidated financial statements at September 30,
2008.
Millennium
adopted the provisions of FASB Interpretation (“FIN”) No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income
Taxes, on
January 1, 2007. As a result of
the implementation of FIN No. 48, Millennium recognized a $47 million
increase in the liability related to uncertain income tax positions, a
$4 million increase in deferred tax assets and a $43 million increase
of the January 1, 2007 balance of retained deficit.
During
late August and mid-September 2008, two hurricanes, Gustav and Ike, disrupted
U.S. Gulf Coast refining and chemical industry operations.
As a
result of Hurricane Ike, Millennium and Equistar incurred various costs,
including Millennium’s equity interest in Equistar that, to the extent they
exceed the deductible amount under the relevant policies, will be subject to
insurance reimbursements. Such costs, including costs incurred in
conjunction with suspending operations at substantially all of Millennium’s and
Equistar’s Gulf Coast plants, damage to facilities, and costs to restore
operations totaled $5 million at September 30,
2008. Additional amounts, including damage to facilities, are
currently estimated to range from $5 million to
$10 million. This estimate includes the cost of restoring
operations of a plant that has not yet restarted.
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
4. Acquisition of Lyondell by LyondellBasell Industries
On
December 20, 2007, LyondellBasell Industries indirectly acquired the
outstanding common shares of Lyondell and, as a result, Lyondell and Millennium
became indirect, wholly owned subsidiaries of LyondellBasell
Industries.
From
December 20, 2007, Millennium’s consolidated financial statements reflect a
revaluation of Millennium’s assets and liabilities, to reflect the allocation of
$1,312 million of the purchase price to Millennium assigned in
LyondellBasell Industries’ accounting for the purchase of
Lyondell. In addition, at September 30, 2008, Millennium
recognized in its financial statements $308 million of push-down debt for
which it is not the primary obligor, but which it has guaranteed, and which was
used by LyondellBasell Industries in the acquisition of Lyondell, and the
effects of its share of debt similarly guaranteed by Equistar through a
reduction to zero of the carrying value of its investment in
Equistar. Millennium’s pro rata share of Equistar’s push-down debt
exceeded its investment in Equistar at December 20, 2007; therefore,
Millennium reduced to zero its investment in Equistar and also, Millennium
recorded push-down debt to the extent allowed.
The
purchase price allocations used in the preparation of the September 30,
2008 and December 31, 2007 financial statements are preliminary due to the
continuing analyses relating to the determination of the fair values of the
assets and liabilities acquired. Any change to the fair value of
assets and liabilities acquired, based on information as of the acquisition
date, would result in a corresponding adjustment to
goodwill. Management does not expect the finalization of these
matters to have a material effect on the allocation.
Additional
paid in capital was $1,652 million and $1,745 million as of
September 30, 2008 and December 31, 2007, respectively. The
$93 million decrease was due to $20 million of purchase price
allocation adjustments affecting Millennium related to the acquisition by
LyondellBasell Industries, and $73 million related to a settlement under the tax
sharing agreement between Lyondell Chemical Company and Millennium.
On
May 15, 2007, Millennium completed the sale of the worldwide inorganic
chemical business in a transaction valued at approximately $1.3 billion,
including the acquisition of working capital and assumption of certain
liabilities directly related to the business. The operations of the
inorganic chemicals business have been classified as discontinued operations in
the consolidated statements of income and cash flows.
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
5. Discontinued
Operations – (Continued)
The
following represent the elements of cash flow for the nine-month predecessor
period ended September 30, 2007 related to the sale of the inorganic
chemicals business:
Millions of
dollars
|
|
|
|
Gross
sales proceeds
|
|
$ |
1,143 |
|
Cash
and cash equivalents sold
|
|
|
(37 |
) |
Costs
related to the sale
|
|
|
(17 |
) |
Net
proceeds from sale of discontinued operations
before required repayment of debt
|
|
|
1,089 |
|
Debt
required to be repaid
|
|
|
(99 |
) |
Net
proceeds from sale of discontinued operations
|
|
$ |
990 |
|
Amounts
included in income from discontinued operations are summarized as
follows:
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
Millions of
dollars
|
|
For
the nine months ended September 30, 2007
|
|
Sales
and other operating revenues
|
|
$ |
514 |
|
Gain
on sale of discontinued operations
|
|
$ |
337 |
|
Income
from discontinued operations
|
|
|
18 |
|
Provision
for income taxes
|
|
|
58 |
|
Income
from discontinued operations, net of tax
|
|
$ |
297 |
|
The
provision for income taxes in the nine months ended September 30, 2007
primarily reflects the effect of a higher tax basis in the stock of a subsidiary
included in the sale, which resulted in a lower taxable gain. Income
taxes payable related to the sale were $48 million.
The
settlement in the third quarter of 2008 of the inorganic chemicals business
working capital at the closing date resulted in a $10 million write off of
accounts receivable with a corresponding decrease in additional paid in
capital.
On
November 13, 2008, the Company received a Notice of Claims from the purchaser of
the inorganic chemicals business alleging several breaches of
representations and warranties contained in the sales and purchase
agreement. The Company is evaluating the claim which is subject to
mandatory arbitration.
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Notes Payable to Lyondell Chemical
Company—Effective December 2007, a subsidiary of Millennium and a
subsidiary of Lyondell entered into two loan agreements. Under one of
the loan agreements, Millennium’s subsidiary may borrow from and, under the
other loan agreement, Millennium’s subsidiary may make advances to, the Lyondell
subsidiary for amounts up to and not exceeding
$2,000 million. The loans, which bear interest at London
Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) plus 4%, mature in 2012. Accrued
interest may, at the option of the parties, be added to the outstanding
principal amount of the note. At December 31, 2007, these loans
were not utilized. On September 1, 2008, Millennium and Lyondell
terminated these loan agreements and transferred the amounts outstanding under
the loans to a new intercompany account agreement. Under the new
agreement, Millennium may deposit excess cash balances with Lyondell and have
access to uncommitted revolving lines of credit in excess of
deposits. Deposits bear interest at the London Interbank Offered Rate
(“LIBOR”) 1 month rate for the U.S. dollar (“LIBOR 1 month rate for USD”)
minus fifteen basis points and borrowings under the lines of credit bear
interest at the LIBOR 1 month rate for USD plus 350 basis points. The
initial term of the agreement extends one year and will automatically renew
unless a notice of termination is provided by either party. At
September 30, 2008, the balance outstanding under this agreement was
$22 million and is reflected in the Consolidated Balance Sheets as notes
payable to related party.
Notes Receivable from
Equistar—In 2007, Millennium and Equistar entered into loan agreements
permitting Equistar to borrow up to $600 million from Millennium. In
connection with the acquisition of Lyondell by LyondellBasell Industries (see
Note 4), the maturity of the notes was extended to February 16, 2008 from
December 21, 2007, or earlier upon demand. The notes bore
interest, which was due quarterly, at the London Interbank Offered Rate LIBOR
plus 1.75%. The balance of the notes outstanding at December 31,
2007 of $80 million was collected in January 2008.
Tax Sharing Agreement with
Lyondell Chemical Company—As of September 30, 2008, a settlement of $73
million was made under the tax sharing agreement with Lyondell Chemical
Company.
Prior to
December 20, 2007, Equistar was owned 70.5% by Lyondell and 29.5% by
Millennium. As part of the December 20, 2007 acquisition of
Lyondell by LyondellBasell Industries, Lyondell made a contribution to Equistar
of $1,703 million, which was used to repay certain Equistar debt, resulting
in an increase of Lyondell’s direct ownership interest to 79% and a
corresponding decrease in Millennium’s ownership interest to 21%. As
a result of Lyondell’s November 30, 2004 acquisition of Millennium,
Millennium and Equistar are wholly owned subsidiaries of
Lyondell. Millennium accounts for its investment in Equistar using
the equity method. As a partnership, Equistar is not subject to
federal income taxes.
As a
result of the acquisition of Lyondell by LyondellBasell Industries on
December 20, 2007, Equistar’s assets and liabilities were revalued to
reflect the values assigned in LyondellBasell Industries’ accounting for the
purchase of Lyondell, resulting in a new basis of accounting. In
addition, Equistar has recognized in its financial statements
$17,625 million of debt at September 30, 2008 for which it is not the
primary obligor but which it has guaranteed, and which was used by
LyondellBasell Industries in the acquisition of Lyondell, and $203 million
of related unamortized debt issuance costs at September 30,
2008.
Millennium’s
pro rata share of Equistar’s push-down debt exceeded the carrying value of its
investment in Equistar at December 20, 2007; therefore, Millennium reduced
to zero the carrying value of its investment.
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
7. Investment
in Equistar Chemicals, LP – (Continued)
Summarized
financial information for Equistar follows:
Millions of
dollars
|
|
September
30,
|
|
|
December 31,
|
|
BALANCE
SHEETS
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
Total
current assets
|
|
$ |
1,896 |
|
|
$ |
2,012 |
|
Notes
receivable – related party
|
|
|
416 |
|
|
|
785 |
|
Property,
plant and equipment, net
|
|
|
5,057 |
|
|
|
5,304 |
|
Goodwill
|
|
|
639 |
|
|
|
750 |
|
Debt
issuance costs on push-down debt
|
|
|
203 |
|
|
|
334 |
|
Investments
and other assets, net
|
|
|
885 |
|
|
|
887 |
|
Total
assets
|
|
$ |
9,096 |
|
|
$ |
10,072 |
|
Current
maturities of long-term debt:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Push-down
debt
|
|
$ |
143 |
|
|
$ |
146 |
|
Debt
of Equistar
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
27 |
|
Related
party borrowings:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Notes
payable
|
|
|
101 |
|
|
|
80 |
|
Push-down
debt
|
|
|
751 |
|
|
|
717 |
|
Other
current liabilities
|
|
|
962 |
|
|
|
1,461 |
|
Long-term
debt:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Push
down debt
|
|
|
16,731 |
|
|
|
16,829 |
|
Debt
of Equistar
|
|
|
130 |
|
|
|
129 |
|
Other
liabilities and deferred revenues
|
|
|
269 |
|
|
|
295 |
|
Partners’
deficit
|
|
|
(9,991 |
) |
|
|
(9,612 |
) |
Total
liabilities and partners’ deficit
|
|
$ |
9,096 |
|
|
$ |
10,072 |
|
|
|
Successor
|
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
|
Successor
|
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
|
|
For
the three months ended
September
30,
|
|
|
For
the nine months ended
September
30,
|
|
Millions of
dollars
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
STATEMENTS
OF INCOME
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sales
and other operating revenues
|
|
$ |
3,975 |
|
|
$ |
3,464 |
|
|
$ |
11,932 |
|
|
$ |
9,867 |
|
Cost
of sales
|
|
|
3,806 |
|
|
|
3,314 |
|
|
|
12,075 |
|
|
|
9,414 |
|
Selling,
general and administrative expenses
|
|
|
53 |
|
|
|
71 |
|
|
|
182 |
|
|
|
202 |
|
Research
and development expenses
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
23 |
|
|
|
28 |
|
Operating
income (loss)
|
|
|
109 |
|
|
|
69 |
|
|
|
(348 |
) |
|
|
223 |
|
Interest
expense, net
|
|
|
(381 |
) |
|
|
(47 |
) |
|
|
(1,134 |
) |
|
|
(150 |
) |
Other
income (expense), net
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
(32 |
) |
Net
income (loss)
|
|
$ |
(271 |
) |
|
$ |
22 |
|
|
$ |
(1,483 |
) |
|
$ |
41 |
|
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Millennium
had trade accounts receivable balances of $109 million and
$106 million as of September 30, 2008 and December 31, 2007,
respectively. These balances were net of an allowance for doubtful
accounts of $1 million at September 30, 2008 and at December 31,
2007.
Inventories
consisted of the following components:
|
|
September
30,
|
|
|
December
31,
|
|
Millions of
dollars
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
Finished
goods
|
|
$ |
72 |
|
|
$ |
65 |
|
Work-in-process
|
|
|
23 |
|
|
|
21 |
|
Raw
materials
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
Materials
and supplies
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
Total
inventories
|
|
$ |
111 |
|
|
$ |
104 |
|
The
components of property, plant and equipment, at cost, and the related
accumulated depreciation were as follows:
|
|
September
30,
|
|
|
December
31,
|
|
Millions of
dollars
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
Land
|
|
$ |
11 |
|
|
$ |
11 |
|
Manufacturing
facilities and equipment
|
|
|
297 |
|
|
|
291 |
|
Construction
in progress
|
|
|
28 |
|
|
|
23 |
|
Total
property, plant and equipment
|
|
|
336 |
|
|
|
325 |
|
Less
accumulated depreciation
|
|
|
(29 |
) |
|
|
(1 |
) |
Property,
plant and equipment, net
|
|
$ |
307 |
|
|
$ |
324 |
|
Depreciation
and amortization expense is summarized as follows:
|
|
Successor
|
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
|
Successor
|
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
|
|
For
the three months ended
September
30,
|
|
|
For
the nine months ended
September
30,
|
|
Millions of
dollars
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
Property,
plant and equipment
|
|
$ |
9 |
|
|
$ |
5 |
|
|
$ |
28 |
|
|
$ |
19 |
|
Other
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
Total
depreciation and amortization
|
|
$ |
12 |
|
|
$ |
6 |
|
|
$ |
38 |
|
|
$ |
23 |
|
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Accounts
payable at September 30, 2008 and December 31, 2007 included
liabilities in the amounts of $1 million and $3 million, respectively,
for checks issued in excess of associated bank balances but not yet presented
for collection.
As a
result of the December 20, 2007 acquisition of Lyondell by LyondellBasell
Industries, Millennium recorded $350 million of push-down debt for which it
is not the primary obligor, but which it has guaranteed, and which was used by
LyondellBasell Industries in the acquisition of Lyondell (see Notes 1 and
4). The balance outstanding at September 30, 2008 related to
push-down debt was $308 million.
Long-term
debt under which Millennium is the primary obligor consisted of the
following:
Millions of
dollars
|
|
September
30,
2008
|
|
|
December
31,
2007
|
|
Senior
Debentures due 2026, 7.625% ($69 million of discount)
|
|
$ |
172 |
|
|
$ |
170 |
|
Convertible
Senior Debentures due 2023, 4%
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
158 |
|
Total
|
|
|
172 |
|
|
|
328 |
|
Less
current maturities
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(158 |
) |
Total
long-term debt, net
|
|
$ |
172 |
|
|
$ |
170 |
|
Millennium
is a guarantor of certain debt borrowed by Lyondell under the LyondellBasell
Industries Senior Secured Credit Facility, including $1,447 million and
$7,427 million, respectively, under the term loan A and B facilities and
certain LyondellBasell Industries debt, including an $8,000 million Interim
Loan, the Basell Group’s 8.375% High Yield Notes due 2015, comprising borrowings
of $615 million and €500 million ($717 million), and amounts borrowed
by the Basell Group under the Senior Secured Credit Facility, consisting of
$482 million borrowed under term loan A and €1,290 million
($1,849 million) under term loan B as well as amounts borrowed by Lyondell
or the Basell Group under the $1,000 million revolving credit facility
under which $860 million was outstanding at September 30,
2008. Millennium is also a guarantor for amounts borrowed under the
Senior Secured Inventory-Based Credit Facility by Lyondell and a U.S.-based
subsidiary of the Basell Group. At September 30,
2008, borrowings of $1,293 million were outstanding under the Senior
Secured Inventory-Based Credit Facility; $1,163 million on the part of
Lyondell and $130 million on the part of the Basell
Group. Millennium may not incur additional indebtedness in excess of
15% of Millennium’s Consolidated Net Tangible Assets (“CNTA”), as defined in the
indenture governing Millennium’s 7.625% Senior Debentures due 2026.
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
12. Long-Term
Debt – (Continued)
Debt Agreement
Amendments—Under
the terms of the financing for the Lyondell acquisition, the joint lead
arrangers (“JLAs”) retained the right to flex certain provisions of the
financing, including pricing and the reallocation and retranching of the Term
Loans. Effective April 30, 2008, the JLAs exercised the price flex
provisions and, in conjunction with the exercise, the Senior Secured Credit
Facility was amended to (i) convert each of the U.S. Tranche B Dollar Term
Loan and the German Tranche B Euro Term Loan into three separate tranches, some
of which tranches are subject to a prepayment penalty, (ii) increase interest
rates and fee rates by 0.5%, (iii) establish a LIBOR floor of 3.25% on the
U.S. Tranche B Dollar Term Loan, (iv) modify certain debt covenants,
including increasing a general debt basket from $750 million to
$1,000 million, eliminating an interest rate hedging requirement,
increasing the asset backed facility basket by $500 million, and adding a
covenant prohibiting reduction of aggregate commitments under the Revolving
Credit Facility with Access Industries before its initial maturity, (v) amend
the calculation of Consolidated EBITDA, as defined, for the purpose of
determining compliance with the debt requirements, to reflect adjustments for
2007 cost of sales in accordance with FIFO inventory accounting, and (vi) make
other changes, including technical and typographical corrections.
In
conjunction with the exercise by the JLAs of their flex rights, additional
amendments were made to each of the Interim Loan, Senior Secured Inventory-Based
Credit Facility, Revolving Credit Facility with Access Industries and Accounts
Receivable Securitization Facility. The amendments to the Interim
Loan and Senior Secured Inventory-Based Credit Facility and the Revolving Credit
Facility with Access Industries were effective on April 30, 2008. The
amendments to the Accounts Receivable Securitization Facility were effective on
May 6, 2008. Each of the Interim Loan, the Senior Secured
Inventory-Based Credit Facility, the Accounts Receivable Securitization Facility
and Revolving Credit Facility with Access Industries were amended to
(i) conform to certain of the amendments to the Senior Secured Credit
Facility and (ii) make other changes, including technical and typographical
corrections. In addition, the Senior Secured Inventory-Based Credit
Facility was amended to allow Lyondell the future option to increase the
aggregate amount of commitments under the facility by a further $500
million.
Under the
terms of the Senior Secured Inventory-Based Credit Facility, as amended,
Lyondell could elect to increase commitments under the facility by up to an
aggregate $1,100 million. Effective April 30, 2008, Lyondell
exercised the option to increase the facility by $600 million and, as a result,
aggregate commitments under the facility increased from $1,000 million to
$1,600 million. Concurrent with the exercise of the increase in
commitments, Lyondell Chemical Company became a lien grantor and added the
following as collateral: (i) a first priority pledge of all equity interests
owned by Lyondell Chemical Company in, and all indebtedness owed to it by,
LyondellBasell Receivables I, LLC (the seller under the Accounts Receivable
Securitization Facility) and (ii) a first priority security interest in all
accounts receivable, inventory and related assets owned by Lyondell Chemical
Company, subject to customary exceptions.
Interim Loan—The Interim
Loan, together with proceeds of other borrowings, was used to finance the
acquisition of Lyondell. If not repaid or exchanged, prior to the 12
months tenure, the Interim Loan converts to an extended senior secured loan in
December 2008 and is due June 2015. Prior to giving effect to the
amendments discussed below, the Interim Loan bore interest at LIBOR plus an
initial margin of 4.625%, which margin increased by 0.5% in June 2008 and
September 2008 and increases by 0.5% for each three-month period thereafter,
subject to a maximum interest rate of 12% per annum (or 12.5% in the event of
certain rating declines) (the “Applicable Margin”). Through a series
of actions, the validity of which LyondellBasell Industries disputed, the JLAs
(as defined below) had attempted to increase the applicable rate under the
Interim Loan to 12% per annum. Since June 16, 2008, LyondellBasell
Industries had been paying 12% interest, which was approximately 4% higher than
the applicable rate under the Interim Loan as at June 30, 2008, in order to
avoid any allegation of default by the lenders. LyondellBasell Industries
had protested the higher rate of interest and had reserved its right to
recover any such amounts based upon a determination that the JLAs' attempt to
impose a rate increase is not supported by the terms of the applicable loan
documentation.
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
12. Long-Term
Debt – (Continued)
On
October 17, 2008, the agreement governing the Interim Loan was amended and
restated. Under the amended and restated agreement, the
$8 billion principal amount of initial loans outstanding were retranched
into:
(a)
|
$3.5 billion
of fixed rate second lien loans, which bear interest at a rate equal to
12% per annum (12.5% in the case of certain ratings
downgrades),
|
(b)
|
$2.0 billion
of floating rate second lien loans
and
|
(c)
|
$2.5 billion
of floating rate third lien loans.
|
All of
the floating rate loans bear interest at a rate equal to LIBOR (in the case of
U.S. dollar loans) or EURIBOR (in the case of euro loans) plus the Applicable
Margin.
The
economic impact of the interest rates applicable to the retranched loans is
effective as of June 16, 2008.
The
amendments also include provisions allowing lenders
(i)
|
within
180 days after October 17, 2008, to convert retranched fixed rate
second lien loans into fixed rate second lien notes or a combination of
fixed rate second lien notes and up to $1 billion in aggregate
principal amount of fixed rate third lien notes and/or fixed rate
unsecured notes (and pursuant to a notice given on October 17, 2008,
all of the fixed rate second lien loans will automatically convert into
fixed rate second lien notes if no election is made by the lenders to
convert a portion of the fixed rate second lien loans to fixed rate third
lien or unsecured notes within this 180-day period)
and
|
(ii)
|
following
the time that the fixed rate second lien loans have been converted into
exchange notes and certain lenders under the amended and restated
agreement hold, in aggregate, less than $950 million of such notes,
to convert new floating rate second lien loans into fixed rate second lien
notes and to convert new floating rate third lien loans into fixed rate
third lien notes and/or fixed rate unsecured notes. In all such
cases, the exchange notes will bear interest at a rate equal to 12% per
annum (12.5% in the case of certain ratings downgrades), may be
denominated in euro or dollars, and will have maturity dates between June
2015 and December 2019.
|
In
addition, the amendments include revisions to some of the terms of the exchange
notes to make them consistent, in some instances, with similar provisions of the
senior secured credit facility. The amendments also make other
changes, including technical and typographical corrections.
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
12. Long-Term
Debt – (Continued)
In May
2008, an affiliate of Access Industries, which indirectly owns LyondellBasell
Industries, entered into a swap, with one of the JLAs based on a notional amount
of $1.6 billion of the Interim Loan. Under the swap, Access will
receive a single payment at maturity determined with reference to the
payments made by LyondellBasell Industries on the Interim Loan prior to
maturity. Access’s obligations under the swap are partly
collateralized with collateral posted by Access Industries or its affiliates
(excluding LyondellBasell Industries and it subsidiaries). Neither
LyondellBasell Industries nor its affiliates, including Equistar and Millennium,
are a party to this transaction.
Other—During the nine months
ended September 30, 2008, Millennium repaid the $158 million of its 4%
Convertible Senior Debentures due 2023.
Amortization
of debt discounts and debt issuance costs resulted in expenses of less than
$1 million for each of the three month periods ended September 30,
2008 and 2007 and resulted in expenses of $2 million and less than
$1 million, respectively, for each of the nine month periods ended
September 30, 2008 and 2007, which are included in interest expense in the
Consolidated Statements of Income. Amounts related to push-down debt
are included in “Interest Expense on push-down debt” in the Consolidated
Statements of Income for the three and nine months ended September 30,
2008.
Effects of a breach—A breach
by Millennium or any other obligor of the covenants or the failure to pay
principal and interest when due under any of the Interim Loan, Senior Secured
Credit Facilities, Asset-Based Facilities or other indebtedness of Millennium or
its affiliates could result in a default or cross-default under all or some of
those instruments. If any such default or cross-default occurs, the
applicable lenders may elect to declare all outstanding borrowings, together
with accrued interest and other amounts payable thereunder, to be immediately
due and payable. In such circumstances, the lenders under the Senior
Secured Credit Facilities, the Access Revolving Credit Facility and the ABL
Inventory-Based Credit Facility also have the right to terminate any commitments
they have to provide further borrowings, and the counterparties under the ABL
Asset-Based Receivables Facility, as well as under legacy Basell U.S. and
European securitization programs, may terminate further purchases of interests
in accounts receivable and receive all collections from previously sold
interests until they have collected on their interests in those receivables,
thus reducing the entity’s liquidity. In addition, following such an
event of default, the lenders under the Senior Secured Credit Facilities and the
counterparties under the ABL Inventory-Based Credit Facility have the right to
proceed against the collateral granted to them to secure the obligations, which
in some cases includes its available cash. If the obligations under
the Interim Loan, Senior Secured Credit Facilities, the Asset-Based Facilities
or any other material financing arrangement were to be accelerated, it is not
likely that the obligors would have, or be able to obtain, sufficient funds to
make these accelerated payments, and as a result Millennium could be forced into
bankruptcy or liquidation.
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
13. Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits
Net
periodic pension benefits for continuing operations included the following cost
components:
|
|
Successor
|
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
|
Successor
|
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
|
|
For
the three months ended
September
30,
|
|
|
For
the nine months ended
September
30,
|
|
Millions of
dollars
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
Service
cost
|
|
$ |
1 |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
2 |
|
|
$ |
2 |
|
Interest
cost
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
24 |
|
|
|
22 |
|
Expected
return on plan assets
|
|
|
(10 |
) |
|
|
(10 |
) |
|
|
(29 |
) |
|
|
(28 |
) |
Amortization
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
9 |
|
Net
periodic pension benefit cost (benefit)
|
|
$ |
(1 |
) |
|
$ |
1 |
|
|
$ |
(3 |
) |
|
$ |
5 |
|
Net
periodic other postretirement benefits costs were less than $1 million and
$1 million, respectively, in the three- and nine-month periods ended
September 30, 2008 and were net credits of $2 million and
$3 million, respectively, in the three- and nine-month periods ended
September 30, 2007.
Since
December 31, 2007, the financial markets have experienced significant
turmoil including declines in asset values and increases in corporate bond
yields. Millennium’s pension plans, which are remeasured annually at
December 31 and, absent changes in financial market conditions, are subject
to decreases in plan asset values and increases in discount rates.
Environmental
Remediation—Millennium’s accrued liability for future environmental
remediation costs at current and former plant sites and other remediation sites
totaled $174 million and $181 million as of
September 30, 2008 and December 31, 2007, respectively. The
remediation expenditures are expected to occur over a number of years, and not
to be concentrated in any single year. In the opinion of management,
there is no material estimable range of reasonably possible loss in excess of
the liabilities recorded for environmental remediation. However, it
is possible that new information about the sites for which the accrual has been
established, new technology or future developments such as involvement in
investigations by regulatory agencies, could require Millennium to reassess its
potential exposure related to environmental matters.
The
following table summarizes the activity in Millennium’s accrued environmental
liability for the nine months ended September 30:
|
|
Successor
|
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
Millions of
dollars
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
Balance
at January 1
|
|
$ |
181 |
|
|
$ |
148 |
|
Additional
accruals
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
12 |
|
Amounts
paid
|
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
(12 |
) |
Adjustments
to purchase price allocation
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
Balance
at September 30
|
|
$ |
174 |
|
|
$ |
148 |
|
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
14. Commitments
and Contingencies – (Continued)
The
liabilities for individual sites range from less than $1 million to
$137 million. The $137 million liability relates to the
Kalamazoo River Superfund Site.
A
Millennium subsidiary has been identified as a Potential Responsible Party
(“PRP”) with respect to the Kalamazoo River Superfund Site. The site
involves cleanup of river sediments and floodplain soils contaminated with
polychlorinated biphenyls, cleanup of former paper mill operations, and cleanup
and closure of landfills associated with the former paper mill
operations.
In 2000,
the Kalamazoo River Study Group (the “KRSG”), of which the Millennium subsidiary
and other PRPs are members, submitted to the State of Michigan a Draft Remedial
Investigation and Draft Feasibility Study, which evaluated a number of remedial
options for the river. The estimated costs for these remedial options
ranged from $0 to $2.5 billion. Although the KRSG study
identified a broad range of remedial options, not all of those options would
represent reasonably possible outcomes. Management does not believe
that it can identify a single remedy among those options that would represent
the highest-cost reasonably possible outcome.
In 2004,
Millennium recognized a liability representing the Millennium subsidiary’s
interim allocation of 55% of the $73 million total of estimated cost of
riverbank stabilization, recommended as the preferred remedy in 2000 by the KRSG
study, and of certain other costs.
At the
end of 2001, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) took lead
responsibility for the river portion of the site at the request of the State of
Michigan. In 2004, the EPA initiated a confidential process to
facilitate discussions among the agency, the Millennium subsidiary, other PRPs,
the Michigan Departments of Environmental Quality and Natural Resources, and
certain federal natural resource trustees about the need for additional
investigation activities and different possible approaches for addressing the
contamination in and along the Kalamazoo River. As these discussions
have continued, Millennium has obtained new information about regulatory
oversight costs and other remediation costs, including a proposed remedy to be
applied to a specific portion of the river, and has been able to reasonably
estimate anticipated costs for certain other segments of the river, based in
part on experience to date with the remedy currently being applied to the one
portion of the river. As a result, management can reasonably estimate
the probable spending for remediation of three segments of the river, which has
been accrued as of September 30, 2008. Management’s best
estimates for costs relating to other segments of the river, which may remain
uncertain for the foreseeable future, also have been accrued based on the KRSG
study.
As of
September 30, 2008, the probable additional future remediation spending
associated with the river cannot be determined with certainty but the amounts
accrued are believed to be the current best estimate of future costs, based on
information currently available. At September 30, 2008, the
balance of the liability related to the river was $92 million.
In
addition, Millennium has recognized a liability primarily related to
Millennium’s estimated share of remediation costs for two former paper mill
sites and associated landfills, which are also part of the Kalamazoo River
Superfund Site. At September 30, 2008, the balance of the
liability was $45 million. Although no final agreement has been
reached as to the ultimate remedy for these locations, Millennium has begun
remediation activity related to these sites.
Millennium’s
ultimate liability for the Kalamazoo River Superfund Site will depend on many
factors that have not yet been determined, including the ultimate remedies
selected, the determination of natural resource damages, the number and
financial viability of the other PRPs, and the determination of the final
allocation among the PRPs.
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
14. Commitments
and Contingencies – (Continued)
The
balance, at September 30, 2008, of remediation liabilities related to
Millennium sites other than the Kalamazoo River Superfund Site was
$37 million.
Litigation—Together with
alleged past manufacturers of lead-based paint and lead pigments for use in
paint, Millennium has been named as a defendant in various legal proceedings
alleging personal injury, property damage, and remediation costs allegedly
associated with the use of these products. The majority of these
legal proceedings assert unspecified monetary damages in excess of the statutory
minimum and, in certain cases, seek equitable relief such as abatement of
lead-based paint in buildings. Legal proceedings relating to lead
pigment or paint are in various trial stages and post-dismissal settings, some
of which are on appeal.
One legal
proceeding relating to lead pigment or paint was tried in 2002. On
October 29, 2002, the judge in that case declared a mistrial after the jury
declared itself deadlocked. The sole issue before the jury was
whether lead pigment in paint in and on Rhode Island buildings constituted a
“public nuisance.” The re-trial of this case began on
November 1, 2005. On February 22, 2006, a jury returned a
verdict in favor of the State of Rhode Island finding that the cumulative
presence of lead pigments in paints and coatings on buildings in the state
constitutes a public nuisance; that a Millennium subsidiary, Millennium
Holdings, LLC, and other defendants either caused or substantially contributed
to the creation of the public nuisance; and that those defendants, including the
Millennium subsidiary, should be ordered to abate the public
nuisance. On February 28, 2006, the judge held that the state
could not proceed with its claim for punitive damages. On
February 26, 2007, the court issued its decision denying the post-verdict
motions of the defendants, including the Millennium subsidiary, for a mistrial
or a new trial. The court concluded that it would enter an order of
abatement and appoint a special master to assist the court in determining the
scope of the abatement remedy. On March 16, 2007, the court
entered a final judgment on the jury’s verdict. On
March 20, 2007, the Millennium subsidiary and the other defendants
filed a notice of appeal with the Rhode Island Supreme Court. On
December 18, 2007, the trial court appointed two special masters to serve
as “examiners” and to assist the trial court in the proposed abatement
proceedings. On May 15, 2008, the Rhode Island Supreme Court
heard oral argument on, among other things, Millennium’s appeal of the jury’s
verdict in favor of the State of Rhode Island. On July 1, 2008,
the Rhode Island Supreme Court unanimously reversed the jury’s verdict and
subsequent judgment against Millennium and the other defendants. The
Rhode Island Supreme Court’s verdict effectively ends this legal
proceeding.
Millennium’s
defense costs to date for lead-based paint and lead pigment litigation largely
have been covered by insurance. Millennium has insurance policies
that potentially provide approximately $1 billion in indemnity coverage for
lead-based paint and lead pigment litigation. Millennium’s ability to
collect under the indemnity coverage would depend upon, among other things, the
resolution of certain potential coverage defenses that the insurers are likely
to assert and the solvency of the various insurance carriers that are part of
the coverage block at the time of such a request.
While
Millennium believes that it has valid defenses to all the lead-based paint and
lead pigment proceedings and is vigorously defending them, litigation is
inherently subject to many uncertainties. Any liability that
Millennium may ultimately incur, net of any insurance or other recoveries,
cannot be estimated at this time.
Guarantees—In addition to
debt guarantees disclosed in Note 12, Millennium continues to guarantee
certain obligations related to the sold inorganic chemicals business until such
time as the buyer completes certain procedures to replace Millennium as
guarantor. The guarantees, principally with respect to the lease of
research facilities, have a total potential obligation of approximately
$31 million over their remaining term. Millennium does not
expect that any payments will be required under these guarantees.
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
14. Commitments
and Contingencies – (Continued)
Indemnification—Millennium
and its joint ventures are parties to various indemnification arrangements,
including arrangements entered into in connection with acquisitions,
divestitures and the formation of joint ventures. For example,
Millennium entered into indemnification arrangements in connection with its
demerger from Hanson plc, and Equistar and its owner companies (including
Millennium) entered into indemnification arrangements in connection with the
formation of Equistar. Pursuant to these arrangements, Millennium and
its joint ventures provide indemnification to and/or receive indemnification
from other parties in connection with liabilities that may arise in connection
with the transactions and in connection with activities prior to completion of
the transactions. These indemnification arrangements typically
include provisions pertaining to third party claims relating to environmental
and tax matters and various types of litigation. As of
September 30, 2008, Millennium has not accrued any significant amounts for
such indemnification obligations. Millennium cannot determine with
certainty the potential amount of future payments under the indemnification
arrangements until events arise that would trigger a liability under the
arrangements.
Other—Millennium and its
joint ventures are, from time to time, defendants in lawsuits and other
commercial disputes, some of which are not covered by insurance. Many
of these suits make no specific claim for relief. Although final
determination of any liability and resulting financial impact with respect to
any such matters cannot be ascertained with any degree of certainty, management
does not believe that any ultimate uninsured liability resulting from these
matters in which it, its subsidiaries or its joint ventures currently are
involved will, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect
on the financial position, liquidity or results of operations of
Millennium.
General—In the opinion of
management, the matters discussed in this note, other than potential future
liabilities for environmental remediation which amounts cannot be estimated, are
not expected to have a material adverse effect on the financial position or
liquidity of Millennium. However, the adverse resolution in any
reporting period of one or more of the matters discussed in this note could have
a material impact on Millennium’s results of operations for that period, which
may be mitigated by contribution or indemnification obligations of others, or by
any insurance coverage that may be available.
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
The
components of comprehensive income were as follows:
|
|
Successor
|
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
|
Successor
|
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
|
|
For
the three months ended
September
30,
|
|
|
For
the nine months ended
September
30,
|
|
Millions of
dollars
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
Net
income (loss)
|
|
$ |
(3 |
) |
|
$ |
9 |
|
|
$ |
17 |
|
|
$ |
290 |
|
Other
comprehensive income (loss), net of tax:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Continuing
operations:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Amortization
of actuarial and investment loss
included
in net periodic pension cost
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
4 |
|
Discontinued
operations:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Foreign
currency translation
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
16 |
|
Amortization
of actuarial and investment loss
included
in net periodic pension cost
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
2 |
|
Sale
of discontinued operations
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(63 |
) |
Total
other comprehensive income (loss)
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(41 |
) |
Comprehensive
income
|
|
$ |
(3 |
) |
|
$ |
10 |
|
|
$ |
17 |
|
|
$ |
249 |
|
16. Segment and Related Information
At the
time of the acquisition of Lyondell by LyondellBasell Industries, LyondellBasell
Industries established new business segments through which Millennium’s
operations are managed.
Millennium,
a wholly owned subsidiary of Lyondell, operates in one reportable
segment. Millennium’s chemicals business segment produces and
markets: acetyls, which include VAM, acetic acid and methanol; and
fragrance and flavors chemicals.
On
May 15, 2007, Millennium completed the sale of its worldwide inorganic
chemicals business (see Note 5) and substantially all of the inorganic
chemicals segment was reclassified as a discontinued operation.
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
16. Segment
and Related Information – (Continued)
Summarized
financial information concerning reportable segments is shown in the following
table for the periods presented:
Millions of
dollars
|
|
Chemicals
|
|
|
Other
|
|
|
Total
|
|
Successor
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the three months
ended September 30, 2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sales
and other operating revenues
|
|
$ |
188 |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
188 |
|
Operating
income (loss)
|
|
|
11 |
|
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
8 |
|
Income
from equity investment in Equistar
before
effects of push-down debt
|
|
|
23 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
23 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the three months
ended September 30, 2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sales
and other operating revenues
|
|
$ |
162 |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
162 |
|
Operating
income (loss)
|
|
|
21 |
|
|
|
(11 |
) |
|
|
10 |
|
Income
from equity investment
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Successor
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the nine months
ended September 30, 2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sales
and other operating revenues
|
|
$ |
587 |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
587 |
|
Operating
income (loss)
|
|
|
76 |
|
|
|
(11 |
) |
|
|
65 |
|
Loss
from equity investment in Equistar
before
effects of push-down debt
|
|
|
(73 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(73 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the nine months
ended September 30, 2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sales
and other operating revenues
|
|
$ |
471 |
|
|
$ |
4 |
|
|
$ |
475 |
|
Operating
income (loss)
|
|
|
62 |
|
|
|
(39 |
) |
|
|
23 |
|
Income
from equity investment
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
12 |
|
Operating
income (loss) in the “Other” column above included a business that was not a
reportable segment and costs not allocated to Millennium’s chemicals segment,
including costs from predecessor businesses.
The 2007
segment information presented above has been reclassified to conform with the
new business segment created during the acquisition of Lyondell by
LyondellBasell Industries.
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
Millennium
America Inc. (“Millennium America”), a 100% owned indirect subsidiary of
Millennium, is a holding company for all of Millennium’s continuing and, prior
to May 15, 2007, discontinued operating subsidiaries other than its
discontinued operations in the United Kingdom, France, Brazil and
Australia. Millennium America is the issuer of the 7.625% Senior
Debentures. Millennium was the issuer of the 4% Convertible Senior
Debentures, which were completely repaid during the first nine months of
2008. Millennium America fully and unconditionally guaranteed all
obligations under the 4% Convertible Senior Debentures, while
outstanding. The 7.625% Senior Debentures are fully and
unconditionally guaranteed by Millennium. The following condensed
consolidating financial information presents supplemental information for
Millennium Chemicals Inc., the parent, and Millennium America as of
September 30, 2008 and December 31, 2007 and for the three- and
nine-month periods ended September 30, 2008 and 2007.
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATING FINANCIAL INFORMATION
BALANCE
SHEET
|
|
As
of September 30, 2008
|
|
Millions of
dollars
|
|
Millennium
Chemicals
Inc.
|
|
|
Millennium
America
Inc.
|
|
|
Non-Guarantor
Subsidiaries
|
|
|
Eliminations
|
|
|
Millennium
Chemicals
Inc.
and
Subsidiaries
|
|
Inventories
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
111 |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
111 |
|
Other
current assets
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
160 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
160 |
|
Property,
plant and equipment, net
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
307 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
307 |
|
Investment
in Equistar Chemicals, LP:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Prior
to push-down debt
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1,579 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1,579 |
|
Effect
of push-down debt
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(1,579 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(1,579 |
) |
Net
investment in Equistar Chemicals,
LP
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
Other
investments and long-term receivables
|
|
|
17 |
|
|
|
324 |
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
(341 |
) |
|
|
16 |
|
Other
assets, net
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
174 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
176 |
|
Due
from parent and affiliates, net
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
259 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(259 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
Total
assets
|
|
$ |
19 |
|
|
$ |
583 |
|
|
$ |
768 |
|
|
$ |
(600 |
) |
|
$ |
770 |
|
Notes
payable to related party
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
22 |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
22 |
|
Other
current liabilities
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
146 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
153 |
|
Long-term
debt:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Push-down
|
|
|
308 |
|
|
|
308 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(308 |
) |
|
|
308 |
|
Debt
of Millennium
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
172 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
172 |
|
Other
liabilities
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
228 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
228 |
|
Deferred
income taxes
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
256 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
256 |
|
Due
to parent and affiliates, net
|
|
|
87 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
172 |
|
|
|
(259 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
Total
liabilities
|
|
|
395 |
|
|
|
487 |
|
|
|
824 |
|
|
|
(567 |
) |
|
|
1,139 |
|
Minority
interest
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
7 |
|
Total
stockholder’s equity (deficit)
|
|
|
(376 |
) |
|
|
96 |
|
|
|
(63 |
) |
|
|
(33 |
) |
|
|
(376 |
) |
Total
liabilities and stockholder’s
equity
|
|
$ |
19 |
|
|
$ |
583 |
|
|
$ |
768 |
|
|
$ |
(600 |
) |
|
$ |
770 |
|
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATING FINANCIAL INFORMATION
BALANCE
SHEET
|
|
As
of December 31, 2007
|
|
Millions of
dollars
|
|
Millennium
Chemicals
Inc.
|
|
|
Millennium
America
Inc.
|
|
|
Non-Guarantor
Subsidiaries
|
|
|
Eliminations
|
|
|
Millennium
Chemicals
Inc.
and
Subsidiaries
|
|
Inventories
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
104 |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
104 |
|
Notes
receivable from related party
|
|
|
80 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
80 |
|
Other
current assets
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
24 |
|
|
|
229 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
256 |
|
Property,
plant and equipment, net
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
324 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
324 |
|
Investment
in Equistar Chemicals, LP:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Prior
to push-down debt
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1,652 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1,652 |
|
Effect
of push-down debt
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(1,652 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(1,652 |
) |
Net
investment in Equistar Chemicals,
LP
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
Other
investments and long-term receivables
|
|
|
68 |
|
|
|
355 |
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
(423 |
) |
|
|
16 |
|
Other
assets, net
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
176 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
179 |
|
Due
from parent and affiliates, net
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
163 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(163 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
Total
assets
|
|
$ |
153 |
|
|
$ |
543 |
|
|
$ |
849 |
|
|
$ |
(586 |
) |
|
$ |
959 |
|
Current
maturities of long-term debt
|
|
$ |
44 |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
114 |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
158 |
|
Other
current liabilities
|
|
|
115 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
64 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
181 |
|
Long-term
debt:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Push-down
|
|
|
350 |
|
|
|
350 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(350 |
) |
|
|
350 |
|
Debt
of Millennium
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
170 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
170 |
|
Other
liabilities
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
238 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
238 |
|
Deferred
income taxes
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
221 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
221 |
|
Due
to parent and affiliates, net
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
153 |
|
|
|
(163 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
Total
liabilities
|
|
|
519 |
|
|
|
522 |
|
|
|
790 |
|
|
|
(513 |
) |
|
|
1,318 |
|
Minority
interest
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
7 |
|
Total
stockholder’s equity (deficit)
|
|
|
(366 |
) |
|
|
21 |
|
|
|
52 |
|
|
|
(73 |
) |
|
|
(366 |
) |
Total
liabilities and stockholder’s equity
|
|
$ |
153 |
|
|
$ |
543 |
|
|
$ |
849 |
|
|
$ |
(586 |
) |
|
$ |
959 |
|
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATING FINANCIAL INFORMATION
STATEMENT
OF INCOME
|
|
Successor
|
|
For
the Three Months Ended September 30, 2008
|
|
Millions of
dollars
|
|
Millennium
Chemicals
Inc.
|
|
|
Millennium
America
Inc.
|
|
|
Non-Guarantor
Subsidiaries
|
|
|
Eliminations
|
|
|
Millennium
Chemicals
Inc.
and
Subsidiaries
|
|
Sales
and other operating revenues
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
188 |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
188 |
|
Cost
of sales
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
172 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
172 |
|
Selling,
general and administrative expenses
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
7 |
|
Research
and development expenses
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1 |
|
Operating
income
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
8 |
|
Interest
expense:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest
expense on push-down debt
|
|
|
(6 |
) |
|
|
(6 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
(6 |
) |
Related parties
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
27 |
|
|
|
(28 |
) |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
Millennium
debt
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(6 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(6 |
) |
Interest
income
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
Other
expense
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
Income
from equity investment in Equistar
Chemicals, LP
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
23 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
23 |
|
Effect
of push-down debt on income
from
equity investment in Equistar
Chemicals,
LP
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(23 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(23 |
) |
Equity
in income of subsidiaries
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
Benefit
from (provision for) income taxes
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
(9 |
) |
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
3 |
|
Net
income (loss)
|
|
$ |
(3 |
) |
|
$ |
5 |
|
|
$ |
(15 |
) |
|
$ |
10 |
|
|
$ |
(3 |
) |
STATEMENT
OF INCOME
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
For
the Three Months Ended September 30, 2007
|
|
Millions of
dollars
|
|
Millennium
Chemicals
Inc.
|
|
|
Millennium
America
Inc.
|
|
|
Non-Guarantor
Subsidiaries
|
|
|
Eliminations
|
|
|
Millennium
Chemicals
Inc.
and
Subsidiaries
|
|
Sales
and other operating revenues
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
162 |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
162 |
|
Cost
of sales
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
136 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
136 |
|
Selling,
general and administrative expenses
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
15 |
|
Research
and development expenses
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1 |
|
Operating
income
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
10 |
|
Interest
income (expense), net
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
(4 |
) |
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
5 |
|
Interest
income (expense), net – related party
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
32 |
|
|
|
(35 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
Income
from equity investment in Equistar
Chemicals, LP
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
6 |
|
Equity
in income of subsidiaries
|
|
|
44 |
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(58 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
Other
income (expense), net
|
|
|
(57 |
) |
|
|
30 |
|
|
|
28 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1 |
|
Benefit
from (provision for) income taxes
|
|
|
20 |
|
|
|
(22 |
) |
|
|
(11 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(13 |
) |
Net
income
|
|
$ |
9 |
|
|
$ |
50 |
|
|
$ |
8 |
|
|
$ |
(58 |
) |
|
$ |
9 |
|
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATING FINANCIAL INFORMATION
STATEMENT
OF INCOME
|
|
Successor
|
|
For
the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2008
|
|
Millions of
dollars
|
|
Millennium
Chemicals
Inc.
|
|
|
Millennium
America
Inc.
|
|
|
Non-Guarantor
Subsidiaries
|
|
|
Eliminations
|
|
|
Millennium
Chemicals
Inc.
and
Subsidiaries
|
|
Sales
and other operating revenues
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
587 |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
587 |
|
Cost
of sales
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
495 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
495 |
|
Selling,
general and administrative expenses
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
25 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
25 |
|
Research
and development expenses
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
2 |
|
Operating
income
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
65 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
65 |
|
Interest
expense:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest
expense on push-down debt
|
|
|
(21 |
) |
|
|
(21 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
21 |
|
|
|
(21 |
) |
Related
parties
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
81 |
|
|
|
(83 |
) |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
(2 |
) |
Millennium
debt
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(18 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(18 |
) |
Interest
income
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1 |
|
Other
income
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1 |
|
Loss
from equity investment in Equistar
Chemicals, LP
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(73 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(73 |
) |
Effect
of push-down debt on loss from
equity
investment in Equistar Chemicals,
LP
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
73 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
73 |
|
Equity
in income of subsidiaries
|
|
|
32 |
|
|
|
10 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(42 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
Benefit
from (provision for) income taxes
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
(15 |
) |
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(9 |
) |
Net
income (loss)
|
|
$ |
17 |
|
|
$ |
37 |
|
|
$ |
(17 |
) |
|
$ |
(20 |
) |
|
$ |
17 |
|
STATEMENT
OF INCOME
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
For
the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2007
|
|
Millions of
dollars
|
|
Millennium
Chemicals
Inc.
|
|
|
Millennium
America
Inc.
|
|
|
Non-Guarantor
Subsidiaries
|
|
|
Eliminations
|
|
|
Millennium
Chemicals
Inc.
and
Subsidiaries
|
|
Sales
and other operating revenues
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
475 |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
475 |
|
Cost
of sales
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
400 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
400 |
|
Selling,
general and administrative expenses
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
49 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
49 |
|
Research
and development expenses
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
3 |
|
Operating
income
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
23 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
23 |
|
Interest
income (expense), net
|
|
|
(4 |
) |
|
|
(28 |
) |
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(26 |
) |
Interest
income (expense), net – related party
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
88 |
|
|
|
(91 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
Other
income (expense), net
|
|
|
(57 |
) |
|
|
13 |
|
|
|
29 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(15 |
) |
Income
from equity investment in Equistar
Chemicals, LP
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
12 |
|
Equity
in income of subsidiaries
|
|
|
328 |
|
|
|
887 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(1,215 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
Benefit
from (provision for) income taxes
|
|
|
20 |
|
|
|
(27 |
) |
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
Income
from discontinued operations,
net of tax
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
297 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
297 |
|
Net
income
|
|
$ |
290 |
|
|
$ |
933 |
|
|
$ |
282 |
|
|
$ |
(1,215 |
) |
|
$ |
290 |
|
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATING FINANCIAL INFORMATION
STATEMENT
OF CASH FLOWS
|
|
Successor
|
|
For
the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2008
|
|
Millions of
dollars
|
|
Millennium
Chemicals
Inc.
|
|
|
Millennium
America
Inc.
|
|
|
Non-Guarantor
Subsidiaries
|
|
|
Eliminations
|
|
|
Millennium
Chemicals
Inc.
and
Subsidiaries
|
|
Net
cash provided by (used
in) operating activities –
continuing
operations
|
|
$ |
75 |
|
|
$ |
(46 |
) |
|
$ |
(3 |
) |
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
26 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Collection
of related party notes receivable
|
|
|
80 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
80 |
|
Expenditures
for property,
plant and equipment
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(9 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(9 |
) |
Proceeds
from sales of assets
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
16 |
|
Other
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(5 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(5 |
) |
Net
cash provided by investing activities
–
continuing operations
|
|
|
80 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
82 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Repayment
of long-term debt
|
|
|
(158 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(158 |
) |
Proceeds
from related party notes payable
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
22 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
22 |
|
Other
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
Net
cash provided by(used
in) financing activities –
continuing
operations
|
|
|
(158 |
) |
|
|
22 |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(137 |
) |
Decrease
in cash and cash equivalents
|
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
(24 |
) |
|
|
(2 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(29 |
) |
Cash
and cash equivalents
at beginning of period
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
24 |
|
|
|
24 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
51 |
|
Cash
and cash equivalents at end of period
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
22 |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
22 |
|
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATING FINANCIAL INFORMATION
STATEMENT
OF CASH FLOWS
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
For
the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2007
|
|
Millions of
dollars
|
|
Millennium
Chemicals
Inc.
|
|
|
Millennium
America
Inc.
|
|
|
Non-Guarantor
Subsidiaries
|
|
|
Eliminations
|
|
|
Millennium
Chemicals
Inc.
and
Subsidiaries
|
|
Net
cash provided by (used
in) operating activities –
continuing
operations
|
|
$ |
208 |
|
|
$ |
(300 |
) |
|
$ |
16 |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
(76 |
) |
Net
cash used in operating activities –
discontinued
operations
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(120 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(120 |
) |
Net
cash provided by
(used
in) operating activities
|
|
|
208 |
|
|
|
(300 |
) |
|
|
(104 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(196 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advances
under related party loan agreements
|
|
|
(200 |
) |
|
|
(315 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(515 |
) |
Expenditures
for property,
plant and equipment
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(12 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(12 |
) |
Payments
to discontinued operations
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(104 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(104 |
) |
Distributions
from affiliates in excess
of earnings
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
18 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
18 |
|
Other
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
3 |
|
Net
cash used in investing activities –
continuing
operations
|
|
|
(200 |
) |
|
|
(315 |
) |
|
|
(95 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(610 |
) |
Net
proceeds from sale of discontinued
operations before
required
repayment of debt
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1,089 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1,089 |
|
Other
net cash provided by investing
activities
– discontinued operations
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
89 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
89 |
|
Net
cash provided by (used in)
investing
activities
|
|
|
(200 |
) |
|
|
(315 |
) |
|
|
1,083 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
568 |
|
MILLENNIUM
CHEMICALS INC.
NOTES
TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — (Continued)
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATING FINANCIAL INFORMATION
STATEMENT
OF CASH FLOWS
―(Continued)
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
For
the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2007
|
|
Millions of
dollars
|
|
Millennium
Chemicals
Inc.
|
|
|
Millennium
America
Inc.
|
|
|
Non-Guarantor
Subsidiaries
|
|
|
Eliminations
|
|
|
Millennium
Chemicals
Inc.
and
Subsidiaries
|
|
Repayment
of long-term debt
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(390 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(390 |
) |
Proceeds
from related party notes payable
|
|
|
(4 |
) |
|
|
952 |
|
|
|
(948 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
Other
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1 |
|
Net
cash provided by (used in) financing
activities –
continuing
operations
|
|
|
(4 |
) |
|
|
562 |
|
|
|
(947 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(389 |
) |
Debt
required to be repaid upon
sale
of discontinued operations
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(99 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(99 |
) |
Other
net cash provided by financing
activities –
discontinued
operations
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
23 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
23 |
|
Net
cash provided by (used in)
financing
activities
|
|
|
(4 |
) |
|
|
562 |
|
|
|
(1,023 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(465 |
) |
Effect
of exchange rate changes on cash
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
1 |
|
Increase
(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
(53 |
) |
|
|
(43 |
) |
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
(92 |
) |
Cash
and cash equivalents
at beginning of period
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
62 |
|
|
|
59 |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
121 |
|
Cash
and cash equivalents at end of period
|
|
$ |
4 |
|
|
$ |
9 |
|
|
$ |
16 |
|
|
$ |
- - |
|
|
$ |
29 |
|
As
part of LyondellBasell Industries’ efforts to reduce fixed costs and respond to
significant market volatility, LyondellBasell Industries has determined that it
is necessary to pursue a reorganization which will decrease the size of the top
levels of LyondellBasell Industries, including Millennium, and streamline the
remaining levels. The program is expected to result in approximately
a 15 percent reduction in the total workforce with potential impacts on
production and office facilities in every region, aside from the fastest-growing
areas, over the next 12 to 18 months, but the benefits of these programs may not
be realized until later periods. Millennium expects to record a
charge related to severance and related costs associated with the reorganization
in the fourth quarter of 2008 and charges related to other costs, associated
with the potential impacts to Millennium’s assets,as incurred.
Item
2. Management's
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
This
discussion should be read in conjunction with information contained in the
Consolidated Financial Statements of Millennium Chemicals Inc., together with
its consolidated subsidiaries (collectively, “Millennium”), and the notes
thereto.
In
addition to comparisons of current operating results with the same period in the
prior year, Millennium has included, as additional disclosure, certain “trailing
quarter” comparisons of third quarter 2008 operating results to second quarter
2008 operating results. Millennium’s acetyls business and its joint
ventures’ businesses are highly cyclical, in addition to experiencing some less
significant seasonal effects. Trailing quarter comparisons may offer
important insight into current business directions.
The
consolidated statement of income for the three and nine months ended
September 30, 2008 reflects post-acquisition depreciation and amortization
expense based on the new value of the related assets and interest expense that
resulted from the debt used to finance the acquisition; therefore, the financial
information for the periods prior to and subsequent to the acquisition on
December 20, 2007 is not generally comparable. To indicate the
application of a different basis of accounting for the period subsequent to the
acquisition, the 2007 financial information presents separately the period prior
to the acquisition (“Predecessor”) and the period after the acquisition
(“Successor”).
References
to industry benchmark prices or costs, including the weighted average cost of
ethylene production, are generally to industry prices and costs reported by
Chemical Marketing Associates, Incorporated (“CMAI”), except that crude oil and
natural gas benchmark price references are to industry prices reported by
Platts, a reporting service of The McGraw-Hill Companies.
ACQUISITION
On
December 20, 2007, Basell AF S.C.A. (“Basell”) indirectly acquired the
outstanding common shares of Lyondell Chemical Company (together with its
consolidated subsidiaries, “Lyondell”). As a result, Lyondell became
an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Basell, and Basell was renamed
LyondellBasell Industries AF S.C.A. (together with its consolidated
subsidiaries, “LyondellBasell Industries” and without Lyondell, the “Basell
Group”).
OVERVIEW
General—Millennium, a
manufacturer and marketer of chemicals, primarily acetyls and fragrance and
flavors chemicals, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lyondell. As a
result of the acquisition of Lyondell by LyondellBasell Industries, Millennium
reassessed segment reporting based on the current management structure,
including the impact of the integration of Millennium’s businesses into the
LyondellBasell Industries portfolio of businesses. Based on this
analysis, Millennium concluded that it operates in, and management is focused
on, one reportable segment, the chemicals segment.
Millennium
has an ownership interest in Equistar Chemicals, LP (together with its
consolidated subsidiaries, “Equistar”), which is accounted for by Millennium
using the equity method. Other subsidiaries of Lyondell hold the
remaining interest in Equistar.
On
May 15, 2007, Millennium completed the sale of its worldwide inorganic
chemicals business in a transaction valued at approximately $1.3 billion,
including the acquisition of working capital and the assumption of specified
liabilities directly related to the business (see Note 5 to the
Consolidated Financial Statements). Substantially all of the
inorganic chemicals business segment is being reported as a discontinued
operation, including comparative periods presented. Unless otherwise
indicated, the following discussion of Millennium’s operating results relates
only to Millennium’s continuing operations.
Millennium’s
third quarter 2008 operating results were negatively affected by the impacts of
unplanned outages related to Hurricane Ike, which resulted in lost production
and higher costs during the third quarter 2008. During September
2008, Millennium suspended chemical operations at its U.S. Gulf Coast plant as a
result of the hurricane.
Acetyls
markets were stronger in the first nine months of 2008 compared to the same
period in 2007. As a result, Millennium’s acetyls products benefited
from higher prices and margins, particularly for methanol, in the third quarter
and first nine months of 2008 compared to the same periods in
2007. Fragrance and flavors products continued to show steady
performance in the 2008 and 2007 periods.
Equistar’s
third quarter 2008 operating results were negatively affected by the impacts of
unplanned outages related to Hurricane Ike, which resulted in lost production
and higher costs. During September 2008, Equistar suspended chemical
operations at almost all of its U.S. Gulf Coast plants as a result of the
hurricane.
In
addition to the negative effects of the hurricane, Equistar experienced lower
profitability during the first nine months of 2008 compared to the same periods
in 2007 as significantly higher average raw material costs outpaced sales price
increases. Equistar’s operating results in the third quarter and
first nine months of 2008, compared to the same periods in 2007, reflected the
effects of lower product margins in both the chemicals and polymers
segments. Equistar’s results of operations are reviewed below
on a 100% basis.
RESULTS
OF OPERATIONS
Revenues—Millennium’s revenues
of $188 million in the third quarter 2008 were 16% higher compared to
revenues of $162 million in the third quarter 2007, and revenues of
$587 million in the first nine months of 2008 were 24% higher compared to
revenues of $475 million in the first nine months of 2007 primarily due to
the effect of higher average sales prices for VAM and methanol, partially offset
by the effect of lower sales volumes.
Cost of Sales—Cost of sales of
$172 million was 26% higher in the third quarter 2008 compared to
$136 million in the third quarter 2007, and cost of sales of
$495 million was 24% higher in the first nine months of 2008 compared to
$400 million in the first nine months of 2007, primarily due to higher raw
material costs.
SG&A Expenses—SG&A
expenses were $7 million in the third quarter 2008 compared to
$15 million in the third quarter 2007, while SG&A expenses were
$25 million in the first nine months of 2008 compared to $49 million
in the first nine months of 2007. The decrease in the third quarter
2008 was primarily due to lower employee benefit costs and lower legal expenses
in the third quarter 2008 compared to the same period in 2007. The
decrease in the first nine months was primarily due to lower provisions for
estimated environmental remediation costs and lower employee benefit costs in
the 2008 period.
Operating
Income—Millennium had operating income of $8 million in the third
quarter 2008 compared to $10 million in the third quarter
2007. The decrease was primarily due to lower sales volumes and
product margins. Operating income was $65 million in the first nine months
of 2008 compared to operating income of $23 million in the first nine
months of 2007, primarily related to higher product margins.
Interest Expense—Interest
expense, including related party interest expense, interest expense on push-down
debt and interest on Millennium’s debt was $13 million in the third quarter
2008 compared to $5 million in the third quarter 2007 and $41 million
in the first nine months of 2008 compared to $43 million in the first nine
months of 2007. Interest on push-down debt contributed to the
increase in interest expense in the third quarter 2008 and substantially offset
a decrease in the nine months of 2008 related to the repayment of
$150 million of principal amount of debt.
Other Income (Expense),
Net—Millennium had other expense, net, of $1 million in the third
quarter 2008 compared to other income, net, of $1 million in the third
quarter 2007 and other income, net, of $1 million for the first nine months
of 2008 compared to other expense, net, of $15 million for the nine months
of 2007. The first nine months of 2007 included $14 million of
debt repayment premiums.
Income Taxes—Millennium had a
$9 million provision for income taxes in the nine months ended
September 30, 2008 on pretax income of $26 million. The
income tax provision for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 was
$1 million on a loss before income taxes of $6 million, reflecting the
negative effect of a change in estimate for prior year tax items, which was
partially offset by a $2 million benefit from newly-enacted Texas state
legislation, allowing the carryforward of certain tax losses for state income
tax purposes.
Income (loss) from Equity Investment
in Equistar—Millennium’s equity investment in Equistar, excluding the
effect of Millennium’s share of Equistar’s push-down debt, resulted in income of
$23 million in the third quarter 2008 compared to income of $6 million
in the third quarter 2007, and a loss of $73 million in the first nine
months of 2008 compared to income of $12 million for the same period of
2007. As a result of push-down debt, Millennium’s earnings from its
equity investment in Equistar for the three and nine month periods ended
September 30, 2008 were reduced to zero. Equistar’s operating
results are reviewed further in the discussion of Equity Investment in Equistar
below.
Income
from Continuing Operations—Millennium’s loss from continuing operations
was $3 million in the third quarter 2008 compared to income from continuing
operations of $9 million in the third quarter 2007 and income from
continuing operations of $17 million in the first nine months of 2008
compared to a loss from continuing operations of $7 million in the first
nine months of 2007. The decrease in the third quarter 2008 compared
to the third quarter 2007 was primarily due to lower equity earnings from
Millennium’s investment in Equistar and higher interest expense, partially
offset by lower interest income due to the repayment of the note receivable due
from Equistar. The increase in the first nine months of 2008 was
primarily due to higher operating income resulting from improved acetyls product
margins, which was partially offset by lower interest income.
Third
Quarter 2008 versus Second Quarter 2008
Millennium’s
loss from continuing operations was $3 million in the third quarter 2008
compared to income from continuing operations of $3 million in the second
quarter 2008. The decrease in profitability was primarily due to
lower sales volumes compared to a strong second quarter 2008 and the effect of
higher-priced product sold from inventory.
Segment
Analysis
At the
time of the acquisition of Lyondell by LyondellBasell Industries, Millennium
established a new chemicals business segment through which its operations are
managed as part of LyondellBasell Industries.
Millennium
operates in one reportable segment. Millennium’s chemicals business
segment produces and markets: acetyls, which include VAM, acetic acid
and methanol; and fragrance and flavors chemicals.
On
May 15, 2007, Millennium completed the sale of its worldwide inorganic
chemicals business (see Note 5) and substantially all of the inorganic
chemicals segment was reclassified as a discontinued operation.
The
following table reflects summarized financial information for Millennium’s
chemicals segment. Other operating loss includes income and expense
not identified with the chemicals business, including certain of Millennium’s
environmental remediation costs and employee-related costs from predecessor
businesses.
|
|
Successor
|
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
|
Successor
|
|
|
Predecessor
|
|
|
|
For
the three months ended
|
|
|
For
nine the months ended
|
|
|
|
September
30,
|
|
|
September
30,
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
Millions of
dollars
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sales
and other operating revenues:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chemicals
|
|
$ |
188 |
|
|
$ |
162 |
|
|
$ |
587 |
|
|
$ |
471 |
|
Other
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
-
- |
|
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating
income (loss):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chemicals
|
|
|
11 |
|
|
|
21 |
|
|
|
76 |
|
|
|
62 |
|
Other
|
|
|
(3 |
) |
|
|
(11 |
) |
|
|
(11 |
) |
|
|
(39 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income
(loss) from equity investment in
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Equistar
before effects of push-down debt
|
|
|
23 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
(73 |
) |
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sales volumes, in
millions
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Acetyls:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vinyl
Acetate Monomer (VAM) (pounds)
|
|
|
126 |
|
|
|
159 |
|
|
|
431 |
|
|
|
481 |
|
Acetic
acid (pounds)
|
|
|
149 |
|
|
|
154 |
|
|
|
463 |
|
|
|
481 |
|
Methanol
(gallons)
|
|
|
18 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
52 |
|
|
|
31 |
|
Chemicals
Segment
Revenues—Chemicals segment
revenues of $188 million in the third quarter 2008 were 16% higher compared
to revenues of $162 million in the third quarter 2007, while revenues of
$587 million in the first nine months of 2008 were 25% higher compared to
revenues of $471 million in the first nine months of 2007. The
increase in the third quarter and first nine months of 2008 was primarily due to
the effects of higher average sales prices for VAM and methanol, partially
offset by the effect of lower sales volumes.
Operating Income—The chemicals
segment had operating income of $11 million in the third quarter 2008
compared to $21 million in the third quarter 2007 and operating income of
$76 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2008 compared to
$62 million in the same period of 2007. The $10 million
decrease in the third quarter 2008 was primarily due to lower sales volumes of
VAM and higher raw material costs for methanol and VAM partially offset by the
effect of higher sales prices for methanol and VAM. The
$14 million improvement in the first nine months of 2008 was primarily due
to higher product margins for methanol and VAM.
Equity Investment in
Equistar
Equistar
manufactures and markets ethylene and its co-products, ethylene derivatives,
primarily polyethylene, and gasoline blending components, as well as
polypropylene.
As a
result of the acquisition of Lyondell by LyondellBasell Industries, Equistar
reassessed segment reporting based on the current management structure,
including the impact of the integration of Equistar’s businesses into the
LyondellBasell Industries portfolio of businesses. Based on this
analysis, Equistar concluded that management is focused on the chemicals segment
and the polymers segment.
The third
quarter 2008 was marked by a number of significant events, including slowing
world economic growth, decreasing crude oil prices, two U.S. Gulf Coast
hurricanes and a crisis in global financial markets. The U.S. Gulf
Coast hurricanes, Gustav and Ike, disrupted Gulf Coast chemical industry
operations during late August and mid-September 2008, resulting in a significant
loss of third quarter 2008 North American industry
production. Underlying operating results reflected the crude oil
price decrease, which led to lower prices for crude oil-related raw materials
used in the production of chemical products. Although they decreased
during the third quarter 2008, crude oil prices averaged higher compared to the
third quarter 2007.
In the
first nine months of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007, record high
prices for crude oil and higher prices for natural gas liquids contributed to
higher raw material costs for chemical producers, putting pressure on chemical
product margins, particularly ethylene. Chemicals and polymers
markets generally experienced some weakening of demand during the 2008
period.
Equistar’s
third quarter 2008 operating results were negatively affected by the impacts of
unplanned outages related to Hurricane Ike, which resulted in lost production
and higher costs. During September 2008, Equistar suspended chemical
operations at a majority of its U.S. Gulf Coast plants as a result of the
hurricane.
In
addition to the negative effects of the hurricane, Equistar experienced lower
profitability during the first nine months of 2008 compared to the same periods
in 2007 as significantly higher raw material costs outpaced sales price
increases. Equistar’s operating results in the third quarter and
first nine months of 2008, compared to the same periods in 2007, reflected the
effects of lower product margins in both the chemicals and polymers
segments. Equistar’s results of operations are reviewed below on a
100% basis.
Ethylene Raw Materials—Benchmark crude oil and
natural gas prices generally have been indicators of the level and direction of
movement of raw material and energy costs for ethylene and its co-products in
the chemicals segment. Ethylene and its co-products are produced from
two major raw material groups:
·
|
crude
oil-based liquids (“liquids” or “heavy liquids”), including naphthas,
condensates, and gas oils, the
prices of which are generally related to crude oil prices;
and
|
·
|
natural
gas liquids (“NGLs”), principally ethane and propane, the prices of which
are generally affected by natural gas
prices.
|
Although
the prices of these raw materials are generally related to crude oil and natural
gas prices, during specific periods the relationships among these materials and
benchmarks may vary significantly.
Equistar
has the ability to shift its ratio of raw materials used in the production of
ethylene and its co-products to take advantage of the relative costs of heavy
liquids and NGLs. However, this ability is limited and, in the first
nine months of 2008, was not sufficient to offset the significant
differential increase in the price of liquids versus NGLs and the failure of
co-product price increases to offset this differential
increase. During the third quarter 2008, the price differential
between liquids and NGLs decreased as crude oil prices began to decline, making
liquids more competitive.
The
following table shows the average U.S. benchmark prices for crude oil and
natural gas for the applicable three- and nine-month periods, as well as
benchmark U.S. sales prices for ethylene, propylene, benzene and HDPE, which
Equistar produces and sells. The benchmark weighted average cost of
ethylene production, which is reduced by co-product revenues, is based on CMAI’s
estimated ratio of heavy liquid raw materials and NGLs used in U.S. ethylene
production and is subject to revision.
|
|
Average
Benchmark Price
|
|
|
|
For
the three months ended
|
|
|
For
the nine months ended
|
|
|
|
September
30,
|
|
|
September
30,
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Crude
oil – dollars per barrel
|
|
|
117.83 |
|
|
|
75.40 |
|
|
|
113.24 |
|
|
|
66.09 |
|
Natural
gas – dollars per million BTUs
|
|
|
9.28 |
|
|
|
6.19 |
|
|
|
9.46 |
|
|
|
6.67 |
|
NWE
Naphtha – dollars per barrel
|
|
|
109.72 |
|
|
|
74.97 |
|
|
|
106.50 |
|
|
|
70.35 |
|
Weighted
average cost
of
ethylene production – cents per pound
|
|
|
52.22 |
|
|
|
38.73 |
|
|
|
52.36 |
|
|
|
33.80 |
|
Ethylene
– cents per pound
|
|
|
68.00 |
|
|
|
50.17 |
|
|
|
64.94 |
|
|
|
44.94 |
|
Propylene
– cents per pound
|
|
|
76.83 |
|
|
|
50.83 |
|
|
|
68.22 |
|
|
|
47.96 |
|
Benzene
– cents per gallon
|
|
|
436.00 |
|
|
|
355.00 |
|
|
|
399.67 |
|
|
|
367.56 |
|
HDPE
– cents per pound
|
|
|
100.67 |
|
|
|
76.00 |
|
|
|
92.44 |
|
|
|
69.89 |
|
While the
increases in natural gas prices were not as dramatic as those of crude oil, NGL
prices were significantly higher during the third quarter and first nine months
of 2008 compared to the same periods in 2007. These increases were
indicative of the pressure on Equistar’s raw material costs, primarily crude
oil-based, but also NGL-based.
Revenues—Equistar’s
revenues of $3,975 million in the third quarter 2008 were 15% higher
compared to revenues of $3,464 million in the third quarter 2007, while the
first nine months of 2008 revenues of $11,932 million were 21% higher
compared to revenues of $9,867 million in the first nine months of
2007. The higher revenues in the third quarter and first nine months
of 2008 reflected the effects of higher average sales prices, partially offset
by the effect of lower sales volumes, compared to the same periods in
2007. As noted in the table above, benchmark sales prices in the
third quarter 2008 averaged higher compared to the third quarter
2007. Ethylene and derivative sales volumes in the third quarter 2008
were 18% lower, while ethylene co-product sales volumes were 25% lower and
polymer sales volumes were 20% lower compared to the third quarter
2007.
Operating
Income—Equistar had operating income of $109 million in the third
quarter 2008 compared to operating income of $69 million in the third
quarter 2007 and an operating loss of $348 million in the first nine months
of 2008 compared to operating income of $223 million in the first nine
months of 2007. Operating income in the third quarter 2008 reflected
an increase over the third quarter 2007 despite the $90 million estimated
effect of lost production due to Hurricane Ike and related costs totaling $24
million, including a $7 million impairment of the carrying value of
assets. The operating loss in the first nine months of 2008 was
primarily due to lower product margins as sales prices did not increase as
rapidly as raw material costs compared to the same period in 2007 and the
negative effect of Hurricane Ike. In addition, depreciation and
amortization expense increased by $64 million and $185 million in the
third quarter and first nine months of 2008, respectively, as a result of the
higher values assigned to Equistar’s assets in the acquisition.
Other
Other
operations include Millennium’s unallocated operating expenses that are not
identified with the reportable business segment, including certain of
Millennium’s environmental remediation costs and employee-related costs from
predecessor businesses.
Other
operating losses were $3 million and $11 million in the third quarter
2008 and 2007, respectively, and $11 million and $39 million in the
first nine months of 2008 and 2007, respectively. The decreases in
the third quarter and first nine months of 2008 reflected lower environmental
and legal costs in the third quarter and first nine months of 2008 compared to
the same 2007 periods.
FINANCIAL
CONDITION
Operating Activities—Operating
activities of continuing operations provided cash of $26 million in the
first nine months of 2008 and used cash of $76 million in the first nine
months of 2007. The $102 million change primarily reflected the
higher operating results in the first nine months of 2008, while the first nine
months of 2007 included higher U.S. federal income tax payments.
Part of
the third quarter 2008 decrease in liquidity reflected the negative effects of
the hurricanes. Other factors contributing to the decrease in
liquidity included a general tightening of trade credit in the industry, the
credit rating downgrade by S&P, and, as discussed further below, the
volatility in the capital markets since mid-September 2008.
Operating
activities of discontinued operations used cash of $120 million in the
first nine months of 2007 primarily due to increases in working capital and
lower operating results.
Investing Activities—Investing
activities of continuing operations provided cash of $82 million in the
first nine months of 2008 and used cash of $610 million in the first nine
months of 2007. The cash provided in the first nine months of 2008
primarily reflected an $80 million payment received from Equistar under
revolving loan agreements executed in June 2007 and proceeds of $16 million
related to the sale of catalyst. The first nine months of 2007
included advances of $515 million to Equistar under revolving loan
agreements and net payments to discontinued operations of
$104 million.
As a
result of financial difficulties experienced by major financial institutions
beginning in the latter part of the third quarter of 2008, Millennium received
notice that rights of redemption had been suspended with respect to a money
market fund in which Millennium had invested approximately
$5 million. As of October 31, 2008, Millennium had received
$3 million and has been advised that the additional redemptions are
forthcoming. As a result, Millennium has reclassified $5 million
from cash and cash equivalents to short-term investments as of
September 30, 2008.
Investing
activities for the first nine months of 2007 also included the
$1,089 million of cash proceeds from the sale of the worldwide inorganic
chemicals business, which were used to reduce debt and for the above-noted
advances to Equistar.
Investing
activities of discontinued operations provided cash of $89 million in the
first nine months of 2007. Payments from Millennium’s continuing
operations of $104 million were partially offset by capital expenditures of
$15 million.
Financing Activities—Financing
activities of Millennium’s continuing operations used cash of $137 million
in the first nine months of 2008 and $389 million in the first nine months
of 2007 primarily for debt repayment. During the first nine months of
2008, Millennium repaid the remaining $158 million of its 4% Convertible
Senior Debenture. Also, during the first nine months of 2008,
Millennium borrowed $22 million under an intercompany account agreement
with Lyondell (see Note 6 to the Consolidated Financial
Statements).
In the
first nine months of 2007, Millennium repaid the remaining $373 million
principal amount of its 9.25% Senior Notes due 2008, paying a premium of
$13 million, and $4 million principal amount of its 7.625% Senior
Debentures due 2026. The repayment of debt upon the May 15, 2007
sale of the discontinued operations used cash of $99 million.
Financing
activities of discontinued operations provided cash of $23 million in the
first six months of 2007.
Liquidity and Capital
Resources—Subsequent
to the acquisition of Lyondell, LyondellBasell Industries manages the cash and
liquidity of Millennium and its other subsidiaries as a single group and a
global cash pool. Substantially all of the group’s cash is managed
centrally, with operating subsidiaries participating through an intercompany
uncommitted revolving credit facility. The
majority of the operating subsidiaries of LyondellBasell Industries, including
Millennium and Equistar, have provided guarantees or collateral for the debt of
various LyondellBasell Industries subsidiaries totaling approximately
$23 billion at September 30, 2008 that was used primarily to acquire
Lyondell. Accordingly, Millennium's liquidity and capital resources are
integrated with LyondellBasell Industries.
LyondellBasell
Industries’ total liquidity, including cash on hand and unused availability
under various liquidity facilities was $1,575 million at September, 30, 2008
compared to $2,856 million at June 30, 2008. The primary factors
for the decline in liquidity included:
·
|
The
impacts of Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, which resulted in the temporary
shutdown of 13 of LyondellBasell Industries’ 14 U.S. Gulf Coast
plants.
|
·
|
The
turnaround of the Houston refinery, which was extended by the collapse of
a contractor company’s crane installed in preparation for the turnaround
of a coker unit.
|
·
|
Inability
to access $169 million of cash equivalents, which were reclassified as
short term investments. LyondellBasell Industries subsequently
collected $89 million of this amount and expects the remainder to be
forthcoming within the next 12
months.
|
·
|
Lower
margins and a general decrease in demand for fuels, chemicals and polymers
products, reflecting the present economic slowdown in a number of
LyondellBasell Industries’ markets
globally.
|
·
|
Payment
of the working capital settlement of $373 million related to the Berre
refinery acquisition, partly offset by the benefit of adding the Berre
refinery and the Solvay Engineered Plastics business in
2008.
|
The
current global financial crisis and recessionary concerns have created
substantial uncertainty for the global economy and the markets in which
LyondellBasell Industries, including Millennium,
operates. LyondellBasell Industries’ markets are experiencing a
softening of demand combined with continued unprecedented volatility in raw
material costs. During the fourth quarter of 2008, demand in major
markets and spot prices for some of LyondellBasell Industries’ products have
declined significantly. In addition, demand for gasoline in North
America has declined substantially compared to the third quarter of 2007, which
in turn has reduced LyondellBasell Industries’ margins in its fuels
business. These conditions have also had a negative impact on trade
credit available to LyondellBasell Industries and its suppliers and
customers.
These
conditions, which are expected to continue during the fourth quarter of 2008 and
which may continue into 2009, could place further demands on LyondellBasell
Industries’ liquidity particularly in the first quarter when it historically has
had significant operating cash flow requirements for annual compensation costs,
property taxes, annual insurance premiums and annual rebate payments to
customers. In addition, LyondellBasell has two key debt compliance ratios based
on EBITDA that LyondellBasell Industries must continue to comply with in the
fourth quarter of 2008 and in each quarter of 2009 and thereafter.
LyondellBasell
Industries is taking steps to reduce costs, working capital and discretionary
capital spending, including the temporary idling of one of its U.S. Gulf Coast
ethylene facilities, representing 11 percent of its U.S. olefins capacity, and
reduction of operating rates of certain integrated cracker operations as well as
adjusting operating rates at its polymers facilities globally to optimize
working capital requirements. Furthermore, LyondellBasell Industries has
expanded its synergy program to a broader, more substantial cost reduction
program in anticipation of a potentially deeper economic downturn. As part of
this program, LyondellBasell Industries is evaluating all of its strategic
options with respect to asset utilization, including possible sales or other
monetization of some assets, and a restructuring of the organization, including
anticipated head count reductions of approximately 15 percent, to reduce
costs. LyondellBasell Industries expects full implementation of these
programs within the next 12 to 18 months, but the benefits of these programs may
not be realized until later periods. LyondellBasell Industries
expects to record a charge related to severance and related costs associated
with the reorganization in the fourth quarter of 2008 and charges related to
other costs associated with the potential impacts to LyondellBasell Industries’
assets as incurred.
LyondellBasell
Industries believes that, with lower raw material costs, the post-hurricane
restoration of substantially all of its U.S. Gulf Coast operations, the
anticipated early December 2008 restart of the second coker unit at
the Houston Refinery, reduced capital expenditures and the implementation of its
cost reduction initiatives, conditions will be such that LyondellBasell
Industries can comply with its debt covenants and that operating cash flows,
together with availability under various liquidity facilities, will be adequate
to meet anticipated future cash requirements, including scheduled debt service
obligations, necessary capital expenditures and ongoing operations, for the
foreseeable future. However, should demand for its products be
significantly below LyondellBasell Industries’ expectations, unplanned plant
outages occur or product margins compress below expectations, whether because
raw material prices return to the high levels experienced in the first part of
2008 or otherwise, LyondellBasell Industries’ cash flow could be lower than
expected or negative. While liquidity at the present time is
adequate, a sustained lower-than-expected or negative cash flow could result in
existing sources of liquidity not being adequate to fund operations and meet
debt service requirements. Failure to comply with quarterly debt
covenants will result in a default under LyondellBasell Industries’ loan
agreements. See "Effects of Breach" below.
The
consolidated financial statements of LyondellBasell Industries and Millennium
have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization
of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business.
At
September 30, 2008, Millennium had $22 million of cash on
hand. Millennium has outstanding letters of credit of $7 million
and related cash collateral of $1 million, which is included in “Other
assets, net,” at September 30, 2008. As of September 30,
2008, total debt, including current maturities, under which Millennium is the
primary obligor, was $172 million.
As a
result of the December 20, 2007 acquisition of Lyondell by LyondellBasell
Industries, Millennium recognized in its financial statements, as of
September 30, 2008, $308 million of acquisition-related or push-down
debt for which it is a guarantor, as described below, but is not the primary
obligor, and reduced its investment in Equistar by $1,579 million to zero
to reflect the push down to Equistar of debt of LyondellBasell Industries
guaranteed by Equistar (see Notes 1, 7 and 12 to the Consolidated Financial
Statements). Millennium does not expect that it will be required to
fund the push-down debt in the foreseeable future.
Historically,
Millennium has financed its operations primarily through cash generated from its
operations, cash distributions from Equistar, and debt
financing. Cash generated from operations is, to a large extent,
dependent on economic, financial, competitive and other factors affecting
Millennium’s businesses and the timing and amount of cash distributions from
Equistar. With the sale of the inorganic chemicals business,
Millennium could become more reliant on cash distributions from
Equistar. The amount of cash distributions received from Equistar is
affected by Equistar’s results of operations and current and expected future
cash flow requirements. Millennium received cash distributions of
$30 million from Equistar in the first nine months of 2007 and none in the
first nine months of 2008.
The major
bond rating agencies have assigned a corporate rating to LyondellBasell
Industries as a group relevant to such borrowings. Management believes this
corporate rating is reflective of the inherent credit for Millennium, as well as
for the group as a whole.
In August
2008, Standard & Poor’s Rating Services (“S&P”) lowered LyondellBasell
Industries’ corporate rating to B from B+, citing weaker-than-expected earnings
for the second quarter of 2008 and a more challenging business outlook for the
coming quarters. The S&P outlook for LyondellBasell Industries
remains negative. In May 2008, Moody’s Investors Service affirmed
LyondellBasell Industries’ corporate rating at B1 and lowered its outlook for
LyondellBasell Industries from stable to negative citing LyondellBasell
Industries’ lower than expected operating results and the effect the current
weakness in the U.S. olefins market may have on LyondellBasell Industries’ plan
to substantially reduce debt.
In March
2008, LyondellBasell Industries entered into a senior unsecured
$750 million, eighteen-month revolving credit facility, under which
Lyondell and a subsidiary of the Basell Group are borrowers. The
$750 million revolving credit facility is in addition to the existing
credit facilities available to LyondellBasell Industries and is provided to
LyondellBasell Industries by Access Industries Holdings, LLC, an affiliate of
Access Industries, which indirectly owns LyondellBasell
Industries. The revolving credit facility has substantially the same
terms as the Senior Secured Credit Facility except that it is unsecured and is
not guaranteed by the subsidiaries of LyondellBasell Industries.
As of
September 30, 2008, there were no borrowings outstanding under the
facility. At each borrower’s option, loans under the revolving credit
facility bear interest at rates equal to LIBOR plus 6% or the higher of the
(i) federal funds rate plus 0.5% and (ii) prime rate, plus, in each
case, 5%. Interest rates may be adjusted, from time to time, based
upon the First Lien Senior Secured Leverage Ratio as calculated at such
time. Neither Millennium nor Equistar can borrow under this
facility.
Millennium’s
liquidity may be negatively affected due to the effects of the current weak
business conditions. Illiquidity in global financial markets could
also affect Millennium’s access to funds under its liquidity
facilities.
The fair
values of Millennium’s pension plans assets have decreased since
December 31, 2007 as a result of significant turmoil in financial
markets. For additional information, see Note 13 to Millennium’s
Consolidated Financial Statements. Further declines in the fair
values of the pension plans assets could require additional payments by Equistar
in order to maintain specified funding levels.
Capital Markets—The recent
volatility in global financial markets has created a considerable amount of
uncertainty as major financial institutions undergo financial
difficulties. Millennium is monitoring its positions with these
institutions and taking steps to minimize its exposure to potential
loss.
Millennium
makes short-term investments in money market funds. In September
2008, Millennium received notice that the rights of redemption had been
suspended with respect to a money market fund in which Millennium had invested
approximately $5 million. As of October 31, 2008,
Millennium had received $3 million and has been advised that additional
redemptions are forthcoming. As a result, in September 2008
Millennium reclassified $5 million from cash and cash equivalents to short
term investments as of September 30, 2008. Other short-term
investments have been moved into Treasury Money Market Funds to minimize
potential loss exposure.
In view
of the interrelated nature of the credit and liquidity position of
LyondellBasell Industries and its subsidiaries, and pursuant to Staff Accounting
Bulletin Topic 5(j) of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Millennium has
recognized debt for which it is not the primary obligor, but which it has
guaranteed (the push-down debt), that was used in the acquisition of Lyondell by
LyondellBasell Industries.
Millennium
believes that conditions will be such that its cash balances, cash generated
from operating activities and cash distributions from Equistar, funds from lines
of credit and cash generated from funding under various liquidity facilities
available to Millennium through Lyondell and LyondellBasell Industries, will be
adequate to meet anticipated future cash requirements, including scheduled debt
repayments, necessary capital expenditures and ongoing operations.
In
addition, Millennium is a limited guarantor under a Senior Secured Credit
Facility and a Senior Secured Inventory-Based Credit Facility entered into on
December 20, 2007, in connection with the acquisition of Lyondell by
LyondellBasell Industries. Lyondell and other subsidiaries of the
Basell Group are borrowers under the Senior Secured Credit Facility, which
includes a six-year $2,000 million term loan A facility due 2013; a
seven-year $7,550 million and €1,300 million term loan B facility due
2014; and a six-year $1,000 million multicurrency revolving credit facility
due 2013. Lyondell, Equistar and a subsidiary of the Basell Group are
borrowers under the Senior Secured Inventory-Based Credit Facility.
At
September 30, 2008, amounts borrowed by the Basell Group under the Senior
Secured Credit Facility consisted of $482 million borrowed under term loan
A, €1,290 million ($1,849 million) under term loan B, and Lyondell
borrowings included $1,447 million borrowed under term loan A and
$7,427 million under term loan B. At September 30, 2008,
borrowings of $1,293 million were outstanding under the Senior Secured
Inventory-Based Credit Facility, $1,163 million on the part of Lyondell and
$130 million on the part of the Basell Group. At September 30,
2008, the outstanding borrowing under the Senior Secured Revolving Credit
Facility was $860 million, of which $728 million was on the part of
Lyondell and $132 million was on the part of the Basell Group.
Millennium’s
indenture contains certain covenants; however Millennium is no longer prohibited
from making certain restricted payments, including dividends to Lyondell, nor is
it required to maintain financial ratios as a result of the repayment in June
2007 of its 9.25% Senior Notes due 2008. The remaining covenants are
described in Note 13 to Millennium’s Consolidated Financial Statements
included in Millennium’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2007. There have been no changes in the terms of
the covenants or the guarantees in the quarter ended September 30,
2008.
Millennium
is a limited guarantor of certain debt of the Basell Group and
Lyondell. Millennium may not incur additional indebtedness in excess
of 15% of Millennium’s Consolidated Net Tangible Assets (“CNTA”), as defined in
the indenture for Millennium’s 7.625% Senior Debentures due 2026. At
September 30, 2008, Millennium’s CNTA was $2,055 million.
The
guaranteed Basell Group debt, at September 30, 2008, includes an
$8,000 million Interim Loan and 8.375% High Yield Notes due 2015,
comprising borrowings of $615 million and €500 million
($717 million).
Interim Loan and
Amendments—The Interim Loan, together with proceeds of other borrowings
discussed below, was used to finance the acquisition of Lyondell. If
not repaid or exchanged, prior to the 12 months tenure, the Interim Loan
converts to a senior secured loan in December 2008 and is due June
2015. Prior to giving affect to the amendments discussed below, the
Interim Loan bore interest at LIBOR plus an initial margin of 4.625%, which
margin increased by 0.5% in June 2008 and September 2008 and increases by 0.5%
for each three-month period thereafter, subject to a maximum interest rate of
12% per annum (or 12.5% in the event of certain rating declines) (the
“Applicable Margin”). Through a series of actions, the validity of
which LyondellBasell Industries disputed, the joint lead arrangers (“JLAs”) had
attempted to increase the applicable rate under the Interim Loan to 12% per
annum. Since June 16, 2008, LyondellBasell Industries has been paying
12% interest, which was approximately 4% higher than the applicable rate under
the Interim Loan as at June 30, 2008, in order to avoid any allegation of
default by the lenders. LyondellBasell Industries had protested the
higher rate and had reserved its right to recover any such amounts based upon a
determination that the JLAs’ attempt to impose a rate increase is not supported
by the terms of the applicable loan documentation.
On
October 17, 2008, the agreement governing the Interim Loan was amended and
restated, and the disputed interest settled. Under the amended and
restated agreement, the $8 billion principal amount of initial loans
outstanding were retranched into:
(a)
|
$3.5 billion
of fixed rate second lien loans, which bear interest at a rate equal to
12% per annum (12.5% in the case of certain ratings
downgrades),
|
(b)
|
$2.0 billion
of floating rate second lien loans
and
|
(c)
|
$2.5 billion
of floating rate third lien loans.
|
All of
the floating rate loans bear interest at a rate equal to LIBOR (in the case of
U.S. dollar loans) or EURIBOR (in the case of euro loans) plus the Applicable
Margin.
The
economic impact of the interest rates applicable to the retranched loans is
effective as of June 16, 2008.
The
amendments also include provisions allowing lenders
(i)
|
within
180 days after October 17, 2008, to convert retranched fixed rate
second lien loans into fixed rate second lien notes or a combination of
fixed rate second lien notes and up to $1 billion in aggregate
principal amount of fixed rate third lien notes and/or fixed rate
unsecured notes (and pursuant to a notice given on October 17, 2008,
all of the fixed rate second lien loans will automatically convert into
fixed rate second lien notes if no election is made by the lenders to
convert a portion of the fixed rate second lien loans to fixed rate third
lien or unsecured notes within this 180-day period)
and
|
(ii)
|
following
the time that the fixed rate second lien loans have been converted into
exchange notes and certain lenders under the amended and restated
agreement hold, in aggregate, less than $950 million of such notes,
to convert new floating rate second lien loans into fixed rate second lien
notes and to convert new floating rate third lien loans into fixed rate
third lien notes and/or fixed rate unsecured notes. In all such
cases, the exchange notes will bear interest at a rate equal to 12% per
annum (12.5% in the case of certain ratings downgrades), may be
denominated in euro or dollars, and will have maturity dates between June
2015 and December 2019.
|
In
addition, the amendments include revisions to some of the terms of the exchange
notes to make them consistent, in some instances, with similar provisions of the
senior secured credit facility. The amendments also make other
changes, including technical and typographical corrections.
Debt Agreement
Amendments―Under the terms of
the financing for the Lyondell acquisition, the JLAs retained the right to flex
certain provisions of the financing, including pricing and the reallocation and
retranching of the Term Loans. Effective April 30, 2008, the JLAs
exercised the price flex provisions and, in conjunction with the exercise, the
Senior Secured Credit Facility was amended to (i) convert each of the U.S.
Tranche B Dollar Term Loan and the German Tranche B Euro Term Loan into three
separate tranches, some of which tranches are subject to a prepayment penalty,
(ii) increase interest rates and fee rates by 0.5%, (iii) establish a
LIBOR floor of 3.25% on the U.S. Tranche B Dollar Term Loan, (iv) modify
certain debt covenants, including increasing a general debt basket from
$750 million to $1,000 million, eliminating an interest rate hedging
requirement, increasing the asset backed facility basket by $500 million,
and adding a covenant prohibiting reduction of aggregate commitments under the
Revolving Credit Facility with Access Industries before its initial maturity,
(v) amend the calculation of Consolidated EBITDA, as defined, for the
purpose of determining compliance with the debt requirements, to reflect
adjustments to present 2007 cost of sales in accordance with FIFO inventory
accounting, and (vi) make other changes, including technical and
typographical corrections.
In
conjunction with the exercise by the JLAs of their flex rights, additional
amendments were made to each of the Interim Loan, Senior Secured Inventory-Based
Credit Facility, Revolving Credit Facility with Access Industries and Accounts
Receivable Securitization Facility. The amendments to the Interim
Loan and Senior Secured Inventory-Based Credit Facility and the Revolving Credit
Facility with Access Industries were effective on April 30,
2008. The amendments to the Accounts Receivable Securitization
Facility were effective on May 6, 2008.
Each of
the Interim Loan, the Senior Secured Inventory-Based Credit Facility, the
Accounts Receivable Securitization Facility and Revolving Credit Facility with
Access Industries were amended to (i) conform to certain of the amendments
to the Senior Secured Credit Facility and (ii) make other changes,
including technical and typographical corrections. In addition, the
Senior Secured Inventory-Based Credit Facility was amended to allow Lyondell the
future option to increase the aggregate amount of commitments under the facility
by a further $500 million.
Under the
terms of the Senior Secured Inventory-Based Credit Facility, as amended,
Lyondell could elect to increase commitments under the facility by up to an
aggregate $1,100 million. Effective April 30, 2008,
Lyondell exercised the option to increase the facility by $600 million and,
as a result, aggregate commitments under the facility increased from
$1,000 million to $1,600 million. Concurrent with the
exercise of the increase in commitments, Lyondell Chemical Company became a lien
grantor and added the following as collateral: (i) a first priority pledge
of all equity interests owned by Lyondell Chemical Company in, and all
indebtedness owed to it by, LyondellBasell Receivables I, LLC (the seller under
the Accounts Receivable Securitization Facility) and (ii) a first priority
security interest in all accounts receivable, inventory and related assets owned
by Lyondell Chemical Company, subject to customary exceptions.
Effects of a breach—A breach
by Millennium or any other obligor of the covenants or the failure to pay
principal and interest when due under any of the Interim Loan, Senior Secured
Credit Facilities, Asset-Based Facilities or other indebtedness of Millennium or
its affiliates could result in a default or cross-default under all or some of
those instruments. If any such default or cross-default occurs, the
applicable lenders may elect to declare all outstanding borrowings, together
with accrued interest and other amounts payable thereunder, to be immediately
due and payable. In such circumstances, the lenders under the Senior
Secured Credit Facilities, the Access Revolving Credit Facility and the ABL
Inventory-Based Credit Facility also have the right to terminate any commitments
they have to provide further borrowings, and the counterparties under the ABL
Asset-Based Receivables Facility, as well as under legacy Basell U.S. and
European securitization programs, may terminate further purchases of interests
in accounts receivable and receive all collections from previously sold
interests until they have collected on their interests in those receivables,
thus reducing the entity’s liquidity. In addition, following such an
event of default, the lenders under the Senior Secured Credit Facilities and the
counterparties under the ABL Inventory-Based Credit Facility have the right to
proceed against the collateral granted to them to secure the obligations, which
in some cases includes its available cash. If the obligations under
the Interim Loan, Senior Secured Credit Facilities, the Asset-Based Facilities
or any other material financing arrangement were to be accelerated, it is not
likely that the obligors would have, or be able to obtain, sufficient funds to
make these accelerated payments, and as a result Millennium could be forced into
bankruptcy or liquidation.
Off-Balance Sheet
Arrangements—Millennium is not a party to any contractual arrangements
that fall within the Securities and Exchange Commission’s definition of
off-balance sheet arrangements.
Equistar Liquidity and Capital
Resources—LyondellBasell
Industries manages the cash and liquidity of Equistar and its other subsidiaries
as a single group and a global cash pool. Substantially all of the
group’s cash is managed centrally, with operating subsidiaries participating
through an intercompany uncommitted revolving credit facility. The majority of
the operating subsidiaries of LyondellBasell Industries, including Equistar,
have provided guarantees or collateral for the debt of various LyondellBasell
Industries subsidiaries totaling approximately $23 billion at September 30,
2008 that was used primarily to acquire Lyondell.
At
September 30, 2008, Equistar’s long-term debt, under which Equistar is the
primary obligor, was $130 million, and there were no current
maturities. In addition, Equistar recognized in its financial
statements a total of $17,625 million of acquisition-related or push-down
debt for which it is a guarantor, as described below, but is not the primary
obligor (see Note 12 to Equistar’s Consolidated Financial
Statements). As a result of recognizing the push-down debt in its
financial statements, Equistar has a $9,991 million deficit in partners’
capital; however, Equistar does not expect that it will be required to fund a
substantial portion of the push-down debt.
The major
bond rating agencies have assigned a corporate rating to LyondellBasell
Industries as a group relevant to such borrowings. Management believes this
corporate rating is reflective of the inherent credit for Equistar, as well as
for the group as a whole.
In March
2008, LyondellBasell Industries entered into a senior unsecured
$750 million, eighteen-month revolving credit facility, under which
Lyondell and a subsidiary of the Basell Group are borrowers. The
$750 million revolving credit facility is in addition to the existing
credit facilities available to LyondellBasell Industries and is provided to
LyondellBasell Industries by Access Industries Holdings, LLC, an affiliate of
Access Industries, which indirectly owns LyondellBasell
Industries. The revolving credit facility has substantially the same
terms as the Senior Secured Credit Facility except that it is unsecured and is
not guaranteed by the subsidiaries of LyondellBasell Industries.
As of
September 30, 2008, there were no borrowings outstanding under the
facility. At each borrower’s option, loans under the revolving credit
facility bear interest at rates equal to LIBOR plus 6% or the higher of the
(i) federal funds rate plus 0.5% and (ii) prime rate, plus, in each
case, 5%. Interest rates may be adjusted, from time to time, based
upon the First Lien Senior Secured Leverage Ratio as calculated at such
time. Neither Millennium nor Equistar can borrow under this
facility.
At September 30, 2008, Equistar had cash on hand of
$52 million. The total amount available to borrowers under the
Accounts Receivable Securitization Facility and the Senior Secured
Inventory-Based Credit Facility totaled $83 million after giving effect to
a total minimum unused availability requirement of $100 million and the
total amount of outstanding letters of guarantee and letters of credit under the
Senior Secured Inventory-Based Credit Facility.
b
The recent volatility in global financial markets has created a
considerable amount of uncertainty as major financial institutions undergo
financial difficulties. Equistar is monitoring its positions with
these institutions and taking steps to minimize its exposure to potential
loss.
Equistar’s liquidity may be negatively affected in the
short term due to the effects of the hurricane on accounts receivable and
inventory levels, which determine availability under, respectively, the Accounts
Receivable Securitization Facility and the Senior Secured Inventory-Based Credit
Facility. Illiquidity in global financial markets could also affect
Equistar’s access to funds under its liquidity facilities.
The fair
values of Equistar’s pension plans assets have decreased since December 31,
2007 as a result of significant turmoil in financial markets. For
additional information, see Note 13 to Equistar’s Consolidated Financial
Statements. Further declines in the fair values of the pension plans
assets could require additional payments by Equistar in order to maintain
specified funding levels.
Equistar
believes that its cash balances, cash generated from operating activities, funds
from lines of credit and cash generated from funding under various liquidity
facilities available to Equistar through LyondellBasell Industries will be
adequate to meet anticipated future cash requirements, including scheduled debt
repayments, necessary capital expenditures, and ongoing operations.
CURRENT
BUSINESS OUTLOOK
During
October 2008, Millennium’s Gulf Coast chemical operations were restarted
following the hurricane.
The
current global financial crisis and recessionary concerns have created
substantial uncertainty for the global economy and the markets in which
LyondellBasell Industries, including Millennium,
operates. Millennium’s markets are experiencing a softening of demand
combined with continued unprecedented volatility in raw material
costs. During the fourth quarter of 2008, polymer demand in major
markets and spot prices for some of Millennium’s products have declined
significantly. These conditions have also had a negative impact on
trade credit available to Millennium and its suppliers and
customers.
These
conditions, which are expected to continue during the fourth quarter of 2008 and
which may continue into 2009, could place further demands on Millennium’s
liquidity. In addition, LyondellBasell Industries has two key debt compliance
ratios based on EBITDA that it must continue to comply with in the fourth
quarter of 2008 and in each quarter of 2009 and thereafter.
Millennium
is taking steps to reduce costs, working capital and discretionary capital
spending. Furthermore, LyondellBasell Industries has expanded its
synergy program to a broader, more substantial cost reduction program in
anticipation of a potentially deeper economic downturn. As part of
this program, it is evaluating all of its strategic options with respect to
asset utilization, including possible sale or other monetization of some assets,
and a restructuring of the organization, including anticipated head count
reductions of approximately 15 percent, to reduce
costs. LyondellBasell Industries expects full implementation of these
programs within the next 12 to 18 months, but the benefits of these programs may
not be realized until later periods. Millennium expects to record a
charge related to severance and related costs associated with the reorganization
in the fourth quarter of 2008 and charges related to other costs associated with
the potential impacts to the Millennium’s assets as incurred.
CRITICAL
ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Millennium
applies those accounting policies that management believes best reflect the
underlying business and economic events, consistent with accounting principles
generally accepted in the U.S. Inherent in such policies are
certain key assumptions and estimates made by management. Management
periodically updates its estimates used in the preparation of the financial
statements based on its latest assessment of the current and projected business
and general economic environment. Information regarding Millennium’s
Critical Accounting Policies is included in Item 7 of Millennium’s Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007.
ACCOUNTING
AND REPORTING CHANGES
For a
discussion of the potential impact of new accounting pronouncements on
Millennium’s consolidated financial statements, see Note 2 to the
Consolidated Financial Statements.
Item
3. Disclosure of
Market Risk
Millennium’s
exposure to market risk is described in Item 7A of its Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2007. Millennium’s exposure to market risk has not changed materially
in the nine months ended September 30, 2008.
Item
4. Controls and
Procedures
Millennium
performed an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of its
management, including the President and Chief Executive Officer (principal
executive officer) and the Chief Financial Officer (principal financial
officer), of the effectiveness of Millennium’s disclosure controls and
procedures, as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as of September 30, 2008. Based
upon that evaluation, the President and Chief Executive Officer and the Chief
Financial Officer concluded that Millennium’s disclosure controls and procedures
are effective.
There
were no changes in Millennium’s internal control over financial reporting that
occurred during Millennium’s last fiscal quarter (the third quarter 2008) that
have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect,
Millennium’s internal control over financial reporting.
FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
Certain
of the statements contained in this report are “forward-looking statements”
within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities
laws. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as
“estimate,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “budget” or other words
that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes. Many of
these forward-looking statements have been based on expectations and assumptions
about future events that may prove to be inaccurate. While
Millennium’s management considers these expectations and assumptions to be
reasonable, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic,
competitive, regulatory and other risks, contingencies and uncertainties, most
of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond Millennium’s
control. Millennium’s actual results (including the results of its
joint ventures) could differ materially from those anticipated in these
forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including but not
limited to:
·
|
Millennium’s
ability to comply with debt covenants and service its substantial
debt,
|
·
|
the
availability, cost and price volatility of raw materials and utilities,
particularly the cost of oil and natural
gas,
|
·
|
uncertainties
associated with the U.S. and worldwide capital markets and
economies,
|
·
|
the
supply/demand balances for Millennium’s and its joint ventures' products,
and the related effects of industry production capacities and operating
rates,
|
·
|
legal,
tax and environmental proceedings,
|
·
|
the
cyclical nature of the chemical and refining
industries,
|
·
|
available
cash and access to capital markets,
|
·
|
technological
developments, and Millennium’s ability to develop new products and process
technologies,
|
·
|
operating
interruptions (including leaks, explosions, fires, weather-related
incidents, mechanical failure, unscheduled downtime, supplier disruptions,
labor shortages or other labor difficulties, transportation interruptions,
spills and releases and other environmental
risks),
|
·
|
current
and potential governmental regulatory actions in the U.S. and in other
countries,
|
·
|
international
political unrest and terrorist
acts,
|
·
|
competitive
products and pricing pressures,
|
·
|
Lyondell’s
(including Millennium and its joint ventures) ability to implement its
business strategies, including integration within LyondellBasell
Industries, and
|
·
|
risks
and uncertainties posed by international operations, including foreign
currency fluctuations.
|
Any of
these factors, or a combination of these factors, could materially affect
Millennium’s future results of operations (including those of its joint
ventures) and the ultimate accuracy of the forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of
future performance, and Millennium’s actual results and future developments
(including those of its joint ventures) may differ materially from those
projected in the forward-looking statements. Millennium’s management
cautions against putting undue reliance on forward-looking statements or
projecting any future results based on such statements or present or prior
earnings levels.
All
forward-looking statements in this Form 10-Q are qualified in their
entirety by the cautionary statements contained in this section, elsewhere in
this report and in Millennium’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2007. See “Business,” “Risk Factors,” and
“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations of Equistar” for additional information about factors that may affect
Millennium’s businesses and operating results (including those of its joint
ventures). These factors are not necessarily all of the important
factors that could affect Millennium and its joint ventures. Use
caution and common sense when considering these forward-looking
statements. Millennium does not intend to update these statements
unless applicable securities laws require it to do so.
In
addition, this Form 10-Q contains summaries of contracts and other
documents. These summaries may not contain all of the information
that is important to an investor, and reference is made to the actual contract
or document for a more complete understanding of what is discussed in the 10-Q,
the contract or document involved.
PART
II. OTHER INFORMATION
Item
1. Legal
Proceedings
There
have been no material developments with respect to Millennium’s legal
proceedings previously disclosed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2007 and the Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the
quarters ended March 31, 2008 and June 30, 2008, except as disclosed
below:
Litigation Matters—Together
with alleged past manufacturers of lead-based paint and lead pigments for use in
paint, Millennium has been named as a defendant in various legal proceedings
alleging personal injury, property damage, and remediation costs allegedly
associated with the use of these products. Millennium is currently named a
defendant in 13 cases arising from Glidden’s manufacture of lead
pigments. These cases are in various stages of the litigation
process. Of these cases, most seek damages for personal injury and
are brought by individuals, and two of the cases seek damages and abatement
remedies based on public nuisance and are brought by states, cities and/or
counties in two states (California and Ohio).
On
October 29, 2002, after a trial in which the jury deadlocked, the court in
State of Rhode Island v. Lead Industries Association, Inc., et al. (which
commenced in the Superior Court of Providence, Rhode Island, on October 13,
1999) declared a mistrial. The sole issue before the jury was whether
lead pigment in paint in and on public and private Rhode Island buildings
constituted a “public nuisance.” The new trial in this case began on
November 1, 2005. On February 22, 2006, a jury returned a
verdict in favor of the State of Rhode Island finding that the cumulative
presence of lead pigments in paints and coatings on buildings in the state
constitutes a public nuisance; that a Millennium subsidiary and other defendants
either caused or substantially contributed to the creation of the public
nuisance; and that those defendants, including the Millennium subsidiary, should
be ordered to abate the public nuisance. On February 28, 2006,
the judge held that the state could not proceed with its claim for punitive
damages. On February 26, 2007, the court issued its decision denying the
post-verdict motions of the defendants, including Millennium, for a mistrial or
a new trial. The court concluded that it would enter an order of
abatement and appoint a special master to assist the court in determining the
scope of the abatement remedy. On March 16, 2007, the court
entered a final judgment on the jury’s verdict. On March 20,
2007, Millennium filed its notice of appeal with the Rhode Island Supreme
Court. On December 18, 2007, the trial court appointed two
special masters to serve as “examiners” and to assist the trial court in the
proposed abatement proceedings. On May 15, 2008, the Rhode
Island Supreme Court heard oral argument on, among other things, Millennium’s
appeal of the jury’s verdict in favor of the State of Rhode
Island. On July 1, 2008, the Rhode Island Supreme Court
unanimously reversed the jury’s verdict and subsequent judgment against
Millennium and the other defendants, holding that the trial court should have
granted Millennium’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a
claim. The Rhode Island Supreme Court’s verdict effectively ends this
legal proceeding; however, Millennium along with the other named defendants are
seeking recovery of their costs incurred defending the case.
On
November 13, 2008, the Company received a Notice of Claims from the
purchaser of the inorganic chemicals business alleging several breaches of
representations and warranties contained in the sales and purchase
agreement. The Company is evaluating the claim which is subject to
mandatory arbitration.
Environmental Matters—In
December 2006, the State of Texas filed a lawsuit in the District Court, Travis
County, Texas, against Equistar and its owners, Lyondell and Millennium,
alleging past violations of various environmental regulatory requirements at
Equistar’s Channelview, Chocolate Bayou and La Porte, Texas facilities and
Millennium’s La Porte, Texas facility, and seeking an unspecified amount of
damages. The previously disclosed Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality (“TCEQ”) notifications alleging noncompliance of emissions monitoring
requirements at Equistar’s Channelview facility and Millennium’s La Porte
facility and seeking civil penalties of $167,000 and $179,520, respectively,
have been included as part of this lawsuit. In July 2008, Millennium
signed an Agreed Final Judgment resolving this lawsuit. Under the
terms of the settlement, Equistar Chemicals and Millennium Petrochemicals Inc.
each agreed to pay $3,250,000 in penalties (with $500,000 being offset by
funding of various local supplemental environmental projects by each
company). The companies also agreed to each pay $250,000 in attorney
fees to the state. This agreement resolved outstanding alleged
violations at several company-owned and/or operated Texas
facilities. No other additional expenditures are
required. In September 2008, the settlement was entered by the
court.
A
Millennium subsidiary has been identified as a potentially responsible party
(“PRP”) with respect to the Kalamazoo River Superfund Site. The site
involves cleanup of river sediments and floodplain soils contaminated with
polychlorinated biphenyls, cleanup of former paper mill operations, and cleanup
and closure of landfills associated with the former paper mill
operations. Litigation concerning the matter commenced by the State
of Michigan in December 1987 was recently dismissed, although the State reserved
its right to bring certain claims in the future if the issues are not resolved
in the CERCLA process. Millennium’s ultimate liability for the
Kalamazoo River Superfund Site will depend on many factors that have not yet
been determined, including the ultimate remedy selected, the determination of
natural resource damages, the number and financial viability of the other PRPs,
and the determination of the final allocation among the PRPs.
Item
1A. Risk Factors
There
have been no material developments with respect to Millennium’s risk factors
previously disclosed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2007 and in the Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the
quarters ended March 31, 2008 and June 30, 2008, except as disclosed
below:
Risks
Related to Indebtedness
Millennium
and its joint ventures require a significant amount of cash to service their
indebtedness, and their ability to generate cash depends on many factors beyond
its control, and on the performance of their subsidiaries and their ability to
make distributions to Millennium and its joint ventures.
Millennium’s
and its joint ventures businesses may not generate sufficient cash flow from
operations to meet debt service obligations, future borrowings may not be
available under current or future credit facilities in an amount sufficient to
enable it to pay its indebtedness at or before maturity and Millennium may not
be able to refinance its indebtedness on reasonable terms, if at
all. Factors beyond its control affect its results of operation and
accordingly its ability to make these payments and
refinancings. These factors are discussed elsewhere in "Risk Factors"
and "Forward-Looking Statements."
Further,
Millennium’s ability to fund capital expenditures and working capital may depend
on the availability of funds under lines of credit and other liquidity
facilities. If, in the future, sufficient cash is not generated from
operations to meet debt service obligations and funds are not available under
lines of credit or other liquidity facilities, Millennium may need to reduce or
delay non-essential expenditures, such as capital expenditures and research and
development efforts. In addition, Millennium may need to refinance
debt, obtain additional financing or sell assets, which Millennium may not be
able to do on reasonable terms, if at all. Global financial markets
have been, and continue to be, volatile, which has caused a substantial
deterioration in the credit and capital markets. These conditions
will likely continue and may make it difficult to obtain funding for
Millennium’s ongoing capital needs. In particular, the cost of
raising money in the debt and equity capital markets has increased substantially
while the availability of funds from those markets generally has diminished
significantly. Also, as a result of concerns about the stability of
financial markets generally and the solvency of counterparties specifically, the
cost of obtaining money from the credit markets generally has increased as many
lenders and institutional investors have increased interest rates, enacted
tighter lending standards, refused to refinance existing debt at maturity on
terms that are similar to existing debt, and reduced, or in some cases ceased,
to provide funding to borrowers.
The
current difficult economic market environment is causing contraction in the
availability of credit in the marketplace. This could potentially
reduce Millennium’s sources of liquidity. In addition, Millennium
relies upon trade creditors to meet a substantial portion of its working capital
requirements. These suppliers could decrease payment periods, reduce
the amount of credit extended to us, demand letters of credit or prepayments or
cease doing business with it as a result of its significant leverage, a further
ratings downgrade, any default under its debt instruments or as a result of the
state of credit markets generally.
Although
Millennium is highly leveraged, subject to limitations in its debt instruments,
its parent may cause it to pay dividends for the benefit of the parent and its
affiliates. Cash used to pay dividends would not be available to pay
principal of or interest on its debt, to make capital expenditures or for
general corporate purposes.
Failure
to comply with covenants or to pay principal of, and interest on, indebtedness
when due could result in an acceleration of debt.
A breach
by Millennium or any other obligor of the covenants or the failure to pay
principal and interest when due under any of the Interim Loan, Senior Secured
Credit Facilities, Asset-Based Facilities or other indebtedness of Millennium or
its affiliates could result in a default or cross-default under all or some of
those instruments. If any such default or cross-default occurs, the
applicable lenders may elect to declare all outstanding borrowings, together
with accrued interest and other amounts payable thereunder, to be immediately
due and payable. In such circumstances, the lenders under the Senior
Secured Credit Facilities, the Access Revolving Credit Facility and the ABL
Inventory-Based Credit Facility also have the right to terminate any commitments
they have to provide further borrowings, and the counterparties under the ABL
Asset-Based Receivables Facility, as well as under legacy Basell U.S. and
European securitization programs, may terminate further purchases of interests
in accounts receivable and receive all collections from previously sold
interests until they have collected on their interests in those receivables,
thus reducing the entity's liquidity. In addition, following such an
event of default, the lenders under the Senior Secured Credit Facilities and the
counterparties under the ABL Inventory-Based Credit Facility have the right to
proceed against the collateral granted to them to secure the obligations, which
in some cases includes its available cash. If the obligations under
the Interim Loan, Senior Secured Credit Facilities, the Asset-Based Facilities
or any other material financing arrangement were to be accelerated, it is not
likely that the obligors would have, or be able to obtain, sufficient funds to
make these accelerated payments, and as a result Millennium could be forced into
bankruptcy or liquidation.
The
terms of the Interim Loan, Senior Secured Credit Facilities, the Access
Revolving Credit Facility, Basell Notes due 2015, Asset-Based Facilities and
other financing instruments may restrict Millennium’s current and future
operations, particularly its ability to respond to changed business conditions
or to take certain actions.
The
Interim Loan, Senior Secured Credit Facilities, Access Revolving Credit
Facility, Basell Notes due 2015, Asset-Based Facilities and other financing
instruments contain a number of restrictive covenants that impose significant
operating and financial restrictions on Millennium, as well as LyondellBasell
Industries, and may limit Millennium’s ability to engage in acts that may be in
its long-term best interests. These include covenants restricting,
among other things, Millennium’s ability to: incur, assume or permit to exist
indebtedness or guarantees; incur, assume or permit to exist liens; make loans
and investments; make external dividends or distributions, engage in mergers,
acquisitions, and other business combinations; prepay, redeem or purchase
certain indebtedness; amend or otherwise alter terms of certain indebtedness,
and other material agreements; make dispositions of assets; engage in
transactions with affiliates; enter into or permit to exist contractual
obligations limiting its ability to make distributions or to incur or permit to
exist liens; and alter the conduct of business. In addition, the
Senior Secured Credit Facilities, Access Revolving Credit Facility and
Asset-Based Facilities contain covenants that limit the level of capital
expenditures per year. The Senior Secured Credit Facilities and
Access Revolving Credit Facility also require the maintenance by LyondellBasell
Industries of specified financial ratios: (1) a maximum First Lien Senior
Secured Leverage Ratio (as defined) of 3.75:1.0 on a consolidated basis; and
(2) a minimum Consolidated Debt Service Ratio (as defined) of 1.1:1.0 on a
consolidated basis. The Asset-Based Facilities require that total
excess availability (as defined) under the Asset-Based Facilities may not be
less than $100 million for two or more consecutive business
days. The Asset-Based Facilities also provide that if for any period
of four consecutive fiscal quarters LyondellBasell Industries’ Fixed Charge
Coverage Ratio (as defined), on a consolidated basis, is less than 1.10:1.0,
then LyondellBasell Industries must maintain minimum levels of total excess
availability (as defined). In addition, due to a recent credit
downgrade, LyondellBasell Industries is required to consult on a daily basis
with the lenders under its securitization program in Europe, which could impact
the availability of funds under such facility in the future. Similar
provisions could be triggered under the Basell securitization program in the
U.S. The ability to meet those financial ratios and other requirements can be
affected by events beyond Millennium’s control and, over time, these covenants
may not be satisfied. Given Millennium’s high debt level and other
financial obligations, these and other financial ratios could significantly
restrict its liquidity and its ability to incur additional debt through its
various credit facilities or by accessing the financial markets.
A
ratings downgrade may increase its interest costs and make it more difficult to
finance Millennium’s operations.
Any
downgrade in Millennium’s corporate ratings by any of the major credit rating
agencies may result in more onerous terms for trade credit and higher borrowing
costs for other indebtedness, and any new financing or credit facilities, if
available at all, may not be on terms as attractive as those Millennium have
currently or other terms acceptable to Millennium and its joint
ventures. As a result, ratings downgrades could adversely affect its
ability to obtain financing for working capital, capital expenditures or
acquisitions or to refinance existing indebtedness. The failure to
obtain sufficient financing or to refinance existing indebtedness could increase
the risk that its leverage may adversely affect its future financial and
operating flexibility.
The
current instability and uncertainty in the global financial markets have created
increased counterparty risk.
Millennium
has exposure to various financial institutions under hedging arrangements,
including interest rate, commodity and currency hedging contracts, and the risk
of counterparty default is currently higher in light of existing capital market
and economic conditions. The recent credit crisis has also resulted
in the potential losses on certain of its assets as a result of counterparty
risk. Reduced liquidity or financial losses resulting from exposure
to the risk of counterparties could have a material adverse effect on our cash
flow and financial condition.
The
instability and uncertainty in the financial markets has also made it difficult
to assess the risk of counterparties to current and future financing
arrangements, investments and other contracts. The financial
markets, the U.S. economy and most European economies have altered the
ability and willingness of certain financial institutions to extend credit in
line with past practices.
Despite
current indebtedness levels, Millennium may still be able to incur more
debt. This could increase the risks associated with its substantial
level of financial obligations.
Although
Millennium currently has limited ability to incur additional debt under certain
of its debt arrangements, Millennium may be able to incur additional
indebtedness in the future. Although its debt instruments contain
restrictions on the incurrence of additional indebtedness, these restrictions
are subject to a number of qualifications and exceptions, and Millennium could
incur additional indebtedness in compliance with these
restrictions. Among other things, Millennium may guarantee or incur
additional obligations to the extent there is available capacity under the
revolving credit facility portion of the Senior Secured Credit Facilities or
under the Asset-Based Facilities. See the "—Liquidity and Capital
Resources" section under "Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations" included in Millennium’s
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30,
2008. If Millennium incurs or guarantees additional financial
obligations above the existing levels, the risks associated with its substantial
level of financial obligations would increase.
Millennium’s
variable rate obligations subject it to interest rate risk, which could cause
its debt service obligations to increase significantly.
As of
September 30, 2008, taking into account the amendment and restatement of
the Interim Loan on October 17, 2008, Millennium was an obligor with
respect to approximately $21.4 billion of variable rate
borrowings. Although Millennium and its co-obligors may have interest
rate hedge arrangements in effect from time to time, its interest expense could
increase if interest rates increase, because its variable rate obligations may
not be fully hedged and they bear interest at floating rates, generally equal to
EURIBOR and LIBOR plus an applicable margin or, in the case of the Senior
Secured Credit Facilities, may instead bear interest at the alternate base rate
plus an applicable margin. Additionally, the Asset-Based Facilities,
consisting of the ABL Asset-Based Receivables Facility entered into in
connection with the Lyondell acquisition and the ABL Inventory-Based Credit
Facility, bear interest at floating rates or the alternate base rate plus an
applicable margin. In addition, $4.5 billion principal amount of
loans under the Interim Loan bear interest at a floating rate equal to LIBOR or
EURIBOR plus an applicable margin. A change of 100 basis points or 1%
of the floating rates as of September 30, 2008, taking into account the
amendment and restatement of the Interim Loan on October 17, 2008, would
change its total pre-tax interest charges by $3 million
annually.
Risks Relating to the Business
The
cyclicality and volatility of the industries in which Millennium
participates may cause significant fluctuations in Millennium’s
operating results.
Millennium’s
historical operating results are subject to the cyclical and volatile nature of
the supply-demand balance in the chemical industry, and its future operating
results are expected to continue to be affected by this cyclicality and
volatility. The chemical industry historically has experienced
alternating periods of capacity shortages leading to tight supply, causing
prices and profit margins to increase, followed by periods when substantial
capacity is added, resulting in oversupply, declining capacity utilization rates
and declining prices and profit margins. The volatility the chemical
industry experiences occurs as a result of changes in the supply and demand for
products, changes in energy prices and changes in various other economic
conditions around the world. This cyclicality and volatility results
in significant fluctuations in profits and cash flow from period to period and
over the business cycles.
The
global economic and political environment continues to be uncertain, and a
decline in demand could place further pressure on its results of
operations. In addition, new capacity additions by some participants
in the industry, especially those in Asia, including the Middle East, that began
in 2006 and are expected to continue, could lead to another period of oversupply
and low profitability. The timing and extent of any changes to
currently prevailing market conditions is uncertain and supply and demand may be
unbalanced at any time. As a consequence, Millennium is unable to
accurately predict the extent or duration of future industry cycles or their
effect on its business, financial condition or results of operations, and can
give no assurances as to any predictions made in this report with respect to the
timing, extent or duration of future industry cycles.
Millennium
may reduce production at or idle a facility for an extended period of time or
exit a business because of an oversupply of a particular product and/or a lack
of demand for that particular product, or high raw material prices, which makes
production uneconomical. Millennium may also reduce production at its
facilities because it has either fixed or minimum off-take arrangements with
joint ventures or third parties. Any decision to permanently close
facilities or exit a business would result in impairment and other charges to
earnings. Temporary outages sometimes last for several quarters or,
in certain cases, longer, and could cause it to incur costs, including the
expenses of maintaining and restarting these facilities. In addition,
even though Millennium may need to reduce production, Millennium may still be
required to continue to purchase or pay for utilities or raw materials under
take-or-pay supply agreements. It is possible that factors such as
increases in raw material costs or lower demand in the future will cause it to
reduce operating rates, idle facilities or exit uncompetitive
businesses.
Costs
of raw materials and energy, as well as reliability of supply, may result in
increased operating expenses and reduced results of operations.
Millennium
and its joint ventures purchase large amounts of raw materials and energy for
their businesses. The cost of these raw materials and energy, in the
aggregate, represents a substantial portion of their operating
expenses. The costs of raw materials and energy generally follow
price trends of, and vary with the market conditions for, crude oil and natural
gas, which may be highly volatile and cyclical. Many raw material and
energy costs have recently experienced significant fluctuations, reaching
historically record high levels. Moreover, a weak U.S. dollar adds to
the volatility in its raw material costs. There have been, and will
likely continue to be, periods of time when Millennium and its joint ventures
are unable to pass raw material and energy cost increases on to customers
quickly enough to avoid adverse impacts on its results of
operations. Customer consolidation also has made it more difficult to
pass along cost increases to customers. The results of operations of
Millennium and its joint ventures have been, and could be in the future,
significantly affected by increases and volatility in these
costs. Cost increases also may increase working capital needs, which
could reduce its liquidity and cash flow. In addition, when raw
material and energy costs increase rapidly and are passed along to customers as
product price increases, the credit risks associated with certain customers can
be compounded. To the extent Millennium and its joint ventures
increase their product sales prices to reflect rising raw material and energy
costs, demand for products may decrease as customers reduce their consumption or
use substitute products, which may have an adverse impact on their results of
operations. See "—Millennium sells
products in highly competitive global markets and face significant price
pressures" below.
In
addition, higher North American natural gas prices relative to natural gas
cost-advantaged regions, such as the Middle East, have diminished the ability of
many domestic chemical producers to compete internationally since natural gas
prices affect a significant portion of the industry's raw materials and energy
sources. This environment has in the past caused, and may in the
future cause, a reduction in Millennium’s or Equistar’s exports from North
America, and has in the past reduced, and may in the future reduce, the
competitiveness of U.S. producers. It also has in the past increased
the competition for product sales within North America, as production that would
otherwise have been sold in other geographic regions. This resulted
in excess supply and lower margins in North America and Europe, and may do so in
the future.
Furthermore,
for Millennium and its joint ventures, there are a limited number of suppliers
for some of their raw materials and utilities and, in some cases, the number of
sources for and availability of raw materials and utilities is specific to the
particular geographic region in which a facility is located. It is
also common in the chemical industry for a facility to have a sole, dedicated
source for its utilities, such as steam, electricity and gas. Having
a sole or limited number of suppliers may result in it having limited
negotiating power, particularly in the case of rising raw material
costs. Alternatively, where Millennium and its joint ventures have
multiple suppliers for a raw material or utility, these suppliers may not make
up for the loss of a major supplier. Any new supply agreements
Millennium and its joint ventures enter into may not have terms as favorable as
those contained in its current supply agreements. For some of their
products, the facilities and/or distribution channels of raw material suppliers
and utilities suppliers and Millennium and its joint ventures form an integrated
system. This is especially true in the U.S. Gulf Coast where the
infrastructure of the chemical and refining industries is tightly integrated
such that a major disruption of supply of a given commodity or utility can
negatively affect numerous participants, including suppliers of other raw
materials.
If one or
more of Millennium’s or its joint ventures’ significant raw material or utility
suppliers were unable to meet its obligations under present supply arrangements,
raw materials become unavailable within the geographic area from which they are
now sourced, or supplies are otherwise disrupted, their businesses could suffer
reduced supplies or be forced to incur increased costs for their raw materials
or utilities, which would have a direct negative impact on plant
operations. For example, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita negatively
affected crude oil and natural gas supplies, as well as supplies of some of its
other raw materials, contributing to increases in raw material prices during the
second half of 2005 and, in some cases, disrupting production. In
addition, hurricane-related disruption of rail and pipeline traffic in the U.S.
Gulf Coast area will negatively affect shipments of raw materials and
product.
In
addition, in light of recent volatility in raw material costs and its current
debt levels, its suppliers could impose more onerous terms on it, resulting in
shorter payment cycles and increasing its working capital
requirements
Disruptions
in financial markets and an economic downturn could adversely affect
Millennium’s customers, and, therefore, its business.
Millennium’s
and its joint venture’s results of operations are materially affected by
conditions in the financial markets and economic conditions generally, both in
the U.S. and elsewhere around the world. An economic downturn in the
businesses or geographic areas in which it sells its products could
substantially reduce demand for these products and result in a decrease in sales
volumes. Recently, concerns over inflation, energy costs,
geopolitical issues, the availability and cost of credit, the U.S. mortgage
market and a declining residential real estate market in the U.S. have
contributed to increased volatility and diminished expectations for the global
economy and markets. These factors, combined with volatile raw
material prices, declining business and consumer confidence, increased
unemployment and continuing financial market fluctuations, have precipitated an
economic slowdown and could lead to an extended worldwide economic
recession. An economic slowdown caused by a recession could adversely
effect Millennium’s and its joint venture’s businesses as these events would
likely reduce worldwide demand for its products, in particular from its
customers in industrial markets generally and specifically in the automotive,
housing and consumer packaging industries. Any of the foregoing
events could result in an impairment of its assets, including
goodwill.
Moreover,
many of Millennium’s and its joint venture’s customers and suppliers rely on
access to credit to adequately fund their operations. These
disruptions in financial markets and an economic slowdown could also adversely
impact the ability of customers to finance the purchase of its products and
creditworthiness of customers, and could adversely impact the ability or
willingness of suppliers to provide us with raw materials for its
business.
External
factors beyond Millennium’s or its joint ventures’ control can cause
fluctuations in demand for its products and in its prices and margins, which may
result in lower operating results.
External
factors beyond Millennium’s or its joint ventures’ control can cause volatility
in the price of raw materials and other operating costs, as well as significant
fluctuations in demand for their products, and can magnify the impact of
economic cycles on their businesses. Examples of external factors
include:
·
|
supply
of and demand for crude oil and other raw
materials;
|
·
|
changes
in customer buying patterns and demand for its
products;
|
·
|
general
economic conditions;
|
·
|
domestic
and international events and
circumstances;
|
·
|
governmental
regulation; and
|
·
|
severe
weather and natural disasters.
|
Also,
Millennium believes that global events have had an impact on its businesses in
recent years and may continue to do so.
In addition, a number of Millennium’s and its joint ventures’
products are highly dependent on durable goods markets, such as the construction
and automotive markets, which also are cyclical and impacted by many of the
external factors referenced above. Many of Millennium’s and its joint
ventures’ products are components of other chemical products that, in turn, are
subject to the supply-demand balance of both the chemical and refining
industries and general economic conditions. The volatility and
relatively elevated level of prices for crude oil and natural gas have resulted
in increased raw material costs as compared to prior years, and the impact of
the factors cited above and others may once again cause a slowdown in the
business cycle, reducing demand and lowering operating rates and, ultimately,
reducing profitability.
Millennium
and its joint ventures sell products in highly competitive global markets and
face significant price pressures.
Millennium
and its joint ventures sell their products in highly competitive global
markets. Due to the commodity nature of many of their products,
competition in these markets is based primarily on price and to a lesser extent
on product performance, product quality, product deliverability, reliability of
supply and customer service. As a result, Millennium and its joint
ventures generally are not able to protect their market position for these
products by product differentiation and may not be able to pass on cost
increases to their customers.
In
addition, Millennium and its joint ventures face increased competition from
companies that may have greater financial resources and different cost
structures or strategic goals than us, such as large integrated oil companies
(many of which also have chemical businesses), government-owned businesses, and
companies that receive subsidies or other government incentives to produce
certain products in a specified geographic region. Increased
competition from these companies could limit Millennium’s and its joint
ventures’ ability to increase product sales prices in response to raw material
and other cost increases, or could cause it to reduce product sales prices to
compete effectively, which could reduce its
profitability. Competitors which have greater financial resources
than Millennium and its joint ventures do may be able to invest significant
capital into their businesses, including expenditures for research and
development. In addition, specialty products Millennium and its joint
ventures produce may become commoditized over time.
Accordingly,
increases in raw material and other costs may not necessarily correlate with
changes in prices for Millennium’s and its joint ventures’ products, either in
the direction of the price change or in magnitude. In addition, their
ability to increase product sales prices, and the timing of those increases, are
affected by the supply-demand balances for its products, as well as the capacity
utilization rates for those products. Timing differences in pricing
between rising raw material costs, which may change daily, and contract product
prices, which in many cases are negotiated only monthly or less often, sometimes
with an additional lag in effective dates for increases, have reduced and may
continue to reduce profitability. Even in periods during which raw
material prices decline, Millennium and its joint ventures may suffer decreasing
profits if raw material price reductions occur at a slower rate than decreases
in the selling prices of their products.
Further,
volatility in costs and pricing can result in commercial disputes with customers
and suppliers with respect to interpretations of complex contractual
arrangements. Significant adverse resolution of any such disputes
also could reduce profitability.
Interruptions
of operations at its facilities may result in liabilities or lower operating
results.
Millennium
and its joint ventures own and operate large-scale facilities, and their
operating results are dependent on the continued operation of their various
production facilities and the ability to complete construction and maintenance
projects on schedule. Material operating interruptions at their
facilities, including interruptions caused by the events described below, may
materially reduce the productivity and profitability of a particular
manufacturing facility, or Millennium and its joint ventures as a whole, during
and after the period of such operational difficulties.
Although
Millennium and its joint ventures take precautions to enhance the safety of
their operations and minimize the risk of disruptions, their operations, along
with the operations of other members of the chemical and refining industries,
are subject to hazards inherent in chemical manufacturing and refining and the
related storage and transportation of raw materials, products and
wastes. These potential hazards include:
·
|
pipeline
leaks and ruptures;
|
·
|
severe
weather and natural disasters;
|
·
|
labor
shortages or other labor
difficulties;
|
·
|
transportation
interruptions;
|
·
|
remediation
complications;
|
·
|
discharges
or releases of toxic or hazardous substances or
gases;
|
·
|
other
environmental risks; and
|
Some of
these hazards can cause personal injury and loss of life, severe damage to or
destruction of property and equipment and environmental damage, and may result
in suspension of operations, the shutdown of affected facilities and the
imposition of civil or criminal penalties. Furthermore, Millennium
and its joint ventures also will continue to be subject to present and future
claims with respect to workplace exposure, exposure of contractors on its
premises as well as other persons located nearby, workers' compensation and
other matters.
Millennium
and its joint ventures maintain property, business interruption, product,
general liability, casualty and other types of insurance, including pollution
and legal liability, that Millennium and its joint ventures believe are in
accordance with customary industry practices, but Millennium and its joint
ventures are not fully insured against all potential hazards incident to their
businesses, including losses resulting from natural disasters, war risks or
terrorist acts. Changes in insurance market conditions have caused,
and may in the future cause, premiums and deductibles for certain insurance
policies to increase substantially and, in some instances, for certain insurance
to become unavailable or available only for reduced amounts of
coverage. If Millennium and its joint ventures were to incur a
significant liability for which Millennium and its joint ventures were not fully
insured, Millennium and its joint ventures might not be able to finance the
amount of the uninsured liability on terms acceptable to them or at all, and
might be obligated to divert a significant portion of their cash flow from
normal business operations.
Millennium’s
and its joint ventures’ operations and assets are subject to extensive
environmental, health and safety and other laws and regulations, which could
result in material costs or liabilities.
Millennium
and its joint ventures cannot predict with certainty the extent of future
liabilities and costs under environmental, health and safety and other laws and
regulations and whether liabilities and costs will be
material. Millennium and its joint ventures also may face liability
for alleged personal injury or property damage due to exposure to chemicals or
other hazardous substances at their current or former facilities or chemicals
that they manufacture, handle or own. In addition, because their
products are components of a variety of other end-use products, Millennium and
its joint ventures, along with other members of the chemical industry, are
inherently subject to potential claims related to those end-use
products. Although claims of the types described above have not
historically had a material impact on Millennium’s or its joint ventures’
operations, a substantial increase in the success of these types of claims could
result in the expenditure of a significant amount of cash by Millennium or its
joint ventures to pay claims, and could reduce their operating
results.
Millennium
and its joint ventures (together with the industries in which they operate) are
subject to extensive national, regional, state and local environmental laws,
regulations, directives, rules and ordinances concerning, and are required to
have permits and licenses regulating, emissions to the air, discharges onto land
or waters and the generation, handling, storage, transportation, treatment,
disposal and remediation of hazardous substances and waste
materials. Many of these laws and regulations provide for substantial
fines and potential criminal sanctions for violations, and permits and licenses
are subject to renewal, modification and in some circumstances,
revocation. Some of these laws and regulations are subject to varying
and conflicting interpretations. In addition, some of these laws and
regulations require Millennium and its joint ventures to meet specific financial
responsibility requirements. Millennium and its joint ventures
generally expect that regulatory controls worldwide will become increasingly
more demanding, but cannot accurately predict future developments, such as
increasingly strict environmental laws, and inspection and enforcement policies,
as well as higher compliance costs, which might affect the handling,
manufacture, use, emission or disposal of products, other materials or hazardous
and non-hazardous waste. Stricter environmental, safety and health
laws, regulations and enforcement policies could result in increased costs and
liabilities to Millennium and its joint ventures or limitations on their
operations, and could subject their handling, manufacture, use, reuse or
disposal of substances or pollutants to more rigorous scrutiny than at
present.
Some risk
of environmental costs and liabilities is inherent in Millennium’s and its joint
ventures’ operations and products, as it is with other companies engaged in
similar businesses, and there is no assurance that material costs and
liabilities will not be incurred.
Environmental
laws may have a significant effect on the nature and scope of cleanup of
contamination at current and former operating facilities, the costs of
transportation and storage of raw materials and finished products and the costs
of the storage and disposal of wastewater. In the U.S., the Superfund
Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (the "Superfund") statutes may impose
joint and several liability for the costs of remedial investigations and actions
on the entities that generated waste, arranged for disposal of the wastes,
transported to or selected the disposal sites and the past and present owners
and operators of such sites. All such responsible parties (or any one
of them, including Millennium and its joint ventures) may be required to bear
all of such costs regardless of fault, the legality of the original disposal or
ownership of the disposal site. In addition, similar environmental
laws and regulations that have been or may be enacted in other countries outside
of the U.S. may impose similar liabilities and costs upon
Millennium.
Millennium
and its joint ventures have on-site solid-waste management units at several
facilities. It is anticipated that corrective measures will be
necessary to comply with national and state requirements with respect to some of
these facilities. Millennium and its joint ventures also have
liabilities under the U.S. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and various
U.S. state and non-U.S. government regulations related to several current and
former plant sites. Millennium and its joint ventures also are
responsible for a portion of the remediation of certain off-site waste disposal
facilities. Millennium and its joint ventures are contributing funds
to the cleanup of several waste sites throughout the U.S. under the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980
("CERCLA") and the Superfund, including the Kalamazoo River Superfund Site
discussed below. Millennium and its joint ventures also have been
named as a Potentially Responsible Parties (“PRP”) under CERCLA or similar law
at several other sites. Millennium’s policy is to accrue remediation
expenses when it is probable that such efforts will be required and the related
expenses can be reasonably estimated. Estimated costs for future
environmental compliance and remediation are necessarily imprecise due to such
factors as the continuing evolution of environmental laws and regulatory
requirements, the availability and application of technology, the identification
of presently unknown remediation sites and the allocation of costs among the
potentially responsible parties under applicable statutes. For
further discussion regarding Millennium’s and its joint ventures’ environmental
matters, related accruals and environmentally related capital expenditures, see
Note 14 to the Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements, and
Note 18 to the Consolidated Financial Statements, “Item 1A. Legal
Proceedings—Environmental Matters” and "Item 2. Management's Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Environmental and
Other Matters" included in Millennium’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for
the Quarter ended September 30, 2008 and "Item 1. Business—Environmental
Capital Expenditures" included in Millennium’s Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2007. If actual expenditures
exceed the amounts accrued, that could have an adverse effect on its results of
operations and financial position.
Kalamazoo River Superfund
Site—A Millennium subsidiary has been identified as a PRP under CERCLA or
similar law with respect to the Kalamazoo River Superfund Site. The
site involves cleanup of river sediments and floodplain soils contaminated with
polychlorinated biphenyls, cleanup of former paper mill operations, and cleanup
and closure of landfills associated with the former paper mill
operations. Litigation concerning the matter commenced by the State
of Michigan in December 1987 was recently dismissed, although the State reserved
its right to bring certain claims in the future if the issues are not resolved
in the CERCLA process. In 2000, the Kalamazoo River Study Group (the
"KRSG"), of which the Millennium subsidiary and other PRPs are members,
submitted to the State of Michigan a Draft Remedial Investigation and Draft
Feasibility Study, which evaluated a number of remedial options for the
river. The estimated costs for these remedial options ranged from $0
to $2.5 billion.
Although
the KRSG study identified a broad range of remedial options, management does not
believe that any single remedy among those options represented the highest-cost
reasonably possible outcome. In 2004, Millennium recognized a
liability representing Millennium's interim allocation of 55% of the
$73 million total of estimated cost of riverbank stabilization, recommended
as the preferred remedy in 2000 by the KRSG study, and of certain other
costs.
At the
end of 2001, the U.S. EPA took lead responsibility for the river portion of the
site at the request of the State of Michigan. In 2004, the EPA
initiated a confidential process to facilitate discussions among the agency, the
Millennium subsidiary, other PRPs, the Michigan Departments of Environmental
Quality and Natural Resources, and certain federal natural resource trustees
about the need for additional investigation activities and different possible
approaches for addressing the contamination in and along the Kalamazoo
River.
As these
discussions have continued, management has obtained new information about
regulatory oversight costs and other remediation costs, including a proposed
remedy to be applied to a specific portion of the river, and has been able to
reasonably estimate anticipated costs for certain other segments of the river,
based in part on experience to date with the remedy currently being applied to
the one portion of the river. As a result, management can reasonably
estimate the probable spending for remediation of three segments of the river,
which has been accrued as of September 30, 2008. Management's
best estimates for costs relating to other segments of the river, which may
remain uncertain for the foreseeable future, also have been accrued, based on
the KRSG study. As of September 30, 2008, the probable
additional future remediation spending associated with the river cannot be
determined with certainty but the amounts accrued are believed to be the current
best estimate of future costs, based on information currently
available.
In
addition, Millennium has recognized a liability primarily related to
Millennium's estimated share of remediation costs for two former paper mill
sites and associated landfills, which are also part of the Kalamazoo River
Superfund Site. Although no final agreement has been reached as to
the ultimate remedy for these locations, Millennium has begun remediation
activity related to these sites.
Millennium's
ultimate liability for the Kalamazoo River Superfund Site will depend on many
factors that have not yet been determined, including the ultimate remedies
selected, the determination of natural resource damages, the number and
financial viability of the other PRPs, and the determination of the final
allocation among the PRPs. See Note 14 to the Unaudited
Consolidated Interim Financial Statements in Millenium’s Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2008, for more
information as to the accrued liabilities related to the Kalamazoo River and the
two former paper mill sites with associated landfills.
Other regulatory
requirements—In addition to the matters described above, Millennium and
its joint ventures are subject to other material regulatory requirements that
could result in higher operating costs, such as regulatory requirements relating
to the security of its facilities, and the transportation, exportation or
registration of its products. Although Millennium and its joint
ventures have compliance programs and other processes intended to ensure
compliance with all such regulations, Millennium and its joint ventures are
subject to the risk that its compliance with such regulations could be
challenged. Non-compliance with certain of these regulations could
result in the incurrence of additional costs, penalties or assessments that
could be significant.
Proceedings
related to the alleged exposure to lead-based paints and lead pigments could
require Millennium to spend material amounts in litigation and settlement costs
and judgments.
Together
with alleged past manufacturers of lead-based paint and lead pigments for use in
paint, Millennium has been named as a defendant in various legal proceedings in
the U.S. alleging personal injury, property damage, and remediation costs
allegedly associated with the use of these products. The plaintiffs
include individuals and governmental entities, and seek recovery under a variety
of theories, including negligence, failure to warn, breach of warranty,
conspiracy, market share liability, fraud, misrepresentation and
nuisance. The majority of these legal proceedings assert unspecified
monetary damages in excess of the statutory minimum and, in certain cases, seek
equitable relief such as abatement of lead-based paint in
buildings. These legal proceedings are in various trial stages and
post-dismissal settings, some of which are on appeal.
While
Millennium believes that it has valid defenses to all the lead-based paint and
lead pigment proceedings and is vigorously defending them, litigation is
inherently subject to many uncertainties. Additional lead-based paint
and lead pigment litigation may be filed against Millennium in the future
asserting similar or different legal theories and seeking similar or different
types of damages and relief, and any adverse court rulings or determinations of
liability, among other factors, could affect this litigation by encouraging an
increase in the number of future claims and proceedings. In addition,
from time to time, legislation and administrative regulations have been enacted
or proposed to impose obligations on present and former manufacturers of
lead-based paint and lead pigment respecting asserted health concerns associated
with such products or to overturn successful court
decisions. Millennium is unable to predict the outcome of lead-based
paint and lead pigment litigation, the number or nature of possible future
claims and proceedings, or the effect that any legislation and/or administrative
regulations may have on Millennium. In addition, Millennium cannot
reasonably estimate the scope or amount of the costs and potential liabilities
related to such litigation, or any such legislation and
regulations. Thus, any liability Millennium incurs with respect to
pending or future lead-based paint or lead pigment litigation, or any
legislation or regulations could, to the extent not covered or reduced by
insurance or other recoveries, have a material impact on Millennium's results of
operations. In addition, Millennium has not accrued any liabilities
for judgments or settlements against Millennium resulting from lead-based paint
and lead pigment litigation. Any liability that Millennium may
ultimately incur with respect to lead-based paint and lead pigment litigation is
not affected by the sale of the inorganic chemicals business, which closed on
May 15, 2007. See "Item 1. Legal Proceedings" included in
Millennium’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
September 30, 2008 for additional discussion regarding lead-based paint and
lead pigment litigation.
Millennium
and its joint ventures obtain a portion of its raw materials from sources
outside the U.S., which subjects them to exchange controls, political risks and
other risks.
Millennium
and its joint ventures obtain a portion of its raw materials from sources
outside the U.S., which subjects them to risks such as transportation delays and
interruptions, war, terrorist activities, epidemics, pandemics, political and
economic instability and disruptions, restrictions on the transfer of funds, the
imposition of duties and tariffs, import and export controls, changes in
governmental policies, labor unrest and current and changing regulatory
environments. These events could increase the prices at which
Millennium and its joint ventures can obtain raw materials or disrupt the supply
of raw materials, which could reduce Millennium’s or its joint ventures’
operating results. Millennium’s and its joint ventures’ compliance
with applicable customs, currency exchange control regulations, transfer pricing
regulations or any other laws or regulations to which Millennium or its joint
ventures may be subject could be challenged. Furthermore, these laws
may be modified, the result of which may be to prevent or limit subsidiaries
from transferring cash to Millennium and its joint ventures.
Millennium
pursues acquisitions, dispositions, partnerships and joint ventures, which may
require significant resources and may not yield the expected
benefits.
Millennium
seeks opportunities to generate value through business combinations, purchases
and sales of assets, partnerships, contractual arrangements or joint
ventures. Any future transaction may require that Millennium make
significant cash investment, incur substantial debt or assume substantial
liabilities. In addition, these transactions may require significant
managerial attention, which may be diverted from its other
operations. These capital, equity and managerial commitments may
impair the operation of its businesses.
Transactions
that Millennium pursue may be intended to, among other things, result in the
realization of synergies, the creation of efficiencies or the generation of cash
to reduce debt. Although these transactions may be expected to yield
longer-term benefits if the expected efficiencies and synergies of the
transactions are realized, they could reduce the operating results of Millennium
or its joint ventures in the short term because of the costs, charges and
financing arrangements associated with such transactions or the benefits of a
transaction may not be realized to the extent anticipated. Other
transactions may advance future cash flows from some of its businesses, thereby
yielding increased short-term liquidity, but consequently resulting in lower
cash flows from these operations over the longer term. Also, any
future acquisitions of businesses or facilities could entail a number of
additional risks, including, problems with effective integration of operations,
the inability to maintain key pre-acquisition business relationships, increased
operating costs, exposure to unanticipated liabilities, and difficulties in
realizing projected efficiencies, synergies and cost savings.
Conflicts
of interest between LyondellBasell Industries, Lyondell, Equistar and/or
Millennium could be resolved in a manner that may be perceived to be adverse to
Millennium.
Lyondell
owns approximately 79% of Equistar, and Millennium owns the remaining
approximately 21% of Equistar. Millennium and Equistar are indirect wholly owned
subsidiaries of Lyondell and, as a result of LyondellBasell Industries’
December 20, 2007 acquisition of Lyondell, Lyondell, Equistar and
Millennium are indirect wholly owned subsidiaries of LyondellBasell Industries.
All executive officers of Lyondell, Equistar and Millennium and all members of
Lyondell’s Board of Directors, Equistar’s Partnership Governance Committee and
Equistar’s Board of Directors also serve as officers of LyondellBasell
Industries. Conflicts of interest may arise between LyondellBasell Industries,
Lyondell, Equistar and/or Millennium when decisions arise that could have
different implications for LyondellBasell Industries, Lyondell, Equistar and/or
Millennium, and conflicts of interest could be resolved in a manner that may be
perceived to be adverse to Millennium and/or Equistar. Millennium and
Equistar depends to a significant degree on its owners for the administration of
its business and has product supply arrangements with its owners. If those
parties do not fulfill their obligations under the arrangements, Millennium’s
and/or Equistar’s revenues, margins and cash flow could be adversely
affected. Millennium has various agreements and transactions with
Lyondell and Equistar. For example, Millennium is party to shared services,
loaned employee and operating arrangements with Lyondell and Equistar pursuant
to which Lyondell, Equistar and Millennium provide many administrative and
operating services to each other. Lyondell provides to Millennium services that
are essential to the administration and management of Millennium’s business,
including information technology, human resources, sales and marketing, raw
material supply, supply chain, health, safety and environmental, engineering,
research and development, facility services, legal, accounting, treasury,
internal audit and tax. Accordingly, Millennium depends to a significant degree
on Lyondell for the administration of Millennium’s business. If Lyondell did not
fulfill its obligations under the shared services arrangement, it would disrupt
Millennium’s business and could have a material adverse effect on Millennium’s
business and results of operations. In addition, Millennium has product supply
agreements with Lyondell and Millennium, pursuant to which Millennium sells a
substantial amount of its products. Millennium expects to continue to derive a
significant portion of its business from transactions with these parties. If
they are unable or otherwise cease to purchase Millennium’s products,
Millennium’s revenues, margins and cash flow could be adversely
affected.
Item
6. Exhibits
4.2
|
|
Amended
and Restated Senior Secured Credit Agreement Dated as of April
30, 2008 (filed as an exhibit to Lyondell Chemical Company’s Current
Report on Form 8-K filed on May 6, 2008 and incorporated herein
by reference)
|
|
|
|
4.3
|
|
Amended
and Restated Bridge (Interim) Loan Credit Agreement Dated as of October
17, 2008 (filed as an exhibit to Lyondell Chemical Company’s Current
Report on Form 8-K filed on October 23, 2008 and incorporated herein by
reference)
|
|
|
|
10.7(a)
|
|
First
Supplement to Amended and Restated Limited Partnership Agreement (filed as
an exhibit to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on April
14, 2008 and incorporated herein by reference)
|
|
|
|
10.8
|
|
Indemnity
Agreement with Equistar (filed as an exhibit to the Registrant’s Current
Report on Form 8-K filed on April 14, 2008 and incorporated herein by
reference)
|
|
|
|
31.1
|
|
Rule
13a – 14(a)/15d – 14(a) Certification of Principal Executive
Officer
|
|
|
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31.2
|
|
Rule
13a – 14(a)/15d – 14(a) Certification of Principal Financial
Officer
|
|
|
|
32.1
|
|
Section
1350 Certification of Principal Executive Officer
|
|
|
|
32.2
|
|
Section
1350 Certification of Principal Financial
Officer
|
SIGNATURE
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto
duly authorized.
|
|
Millennium
Chemicals Inc.
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|
|
|
|
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|
Dated: November
13, 2008
|
|
/s/
Eberhard Faller
|
|
|
Eberhard
Faller
|
|
|
Vice
President, Controller
and
Chief Accounting Officer
|
|
|
(Duly
Authorized and
Principal
Accounting Officer)
|