Company: AVNT
Filing Date: 2025-11-05
Form Type: 10-Q
Source: 0001122976-25-000088
Chunk: 1

Company: AVIENT CORP
Filing Date: 2025-11-05
Form: 10-Q
Item: Part I, Item 2
Chunk 1
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.4%, while sales, excluding the impacts of foreign exchange, decreased 0.2%. Sales increases within the healthcare, defense and telecommunications end markets were offset by declines in the consumer, industrial and energy end markets.

Gross Margin

Gross margin as a percentage of sales was 30.4% for the three months ended September 30, 2025 compared to 32.1% for the three months ended September 30, 2024. This decrease was driven primarily by higher environmental remediation charges of $10.3 million, net of recoveries, and higher restructuring charges of $3.8 million.

15 AVIENT CORPORATION

Gross margin as a percentage of sales was 31.4% for the nine months ended September 30, 2025 compared to 32.0% for the nine months ended September 30, 2024. This decrease was driven primarily by higher restructuring charges of $14.3 million and higher operating costs, primarily associated with planned maintenance in the second quarter of 2025, partially offset by lower environmental remediation charges of $10.7 million, net of recoveries.

Selling and administrative expense

Selling and administrative expense decreased $6.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2025, primarily driven by productivity initiatives and lower incentive compensation cost. Selling and administrative expense increased $68.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, primarily driven by an impairment charge of $71.6 million associated with the Company's decision to cease development of the cloud-based enterprise resource planning system, S/4HANA, and charges of $14.7 million associated with unpaid contractual obligations for hosting fees. These charges were partially offset by productivity initiatives and lower incentive compensation cost.

Interest expense, net

Interest expense, net decreased $2.7 million and $4.3 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025, respectively, primarily driven by the benefit of reduced interest rates resulting from previous refinancing activity, in addition to prepayments totaling $100.0 million made on our senior secured term loan in the second and third quarters of 2025.

Income taxes

During the three months ended September 30, 2025, the Company’s effective tax rate was 23.5%, compared to 22.5% in the same period of 2024. The increase was primarily driven by jurisdictional earnings mix, partially offset by lower global intangible low-taxed