Dow Chemical posted lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday as three plant outages offset a jump in sales across all units and regions, sending shares of the biggest U.S. chemical producer down 3.6% in premarket trading.

Maintenance, safety training and lag time to increase operating rates at the three plants hurt profit by 7 cents per share and revenue by $300 million.
Many of the plants had been operating at low levels during the recession and needed the extra time to ramp up production, a slow process, Dow said. For example, Dow's largest polyethlyene plant in Latin America was closed for 30 days, roughly a third of the quarter.

In a positive sign, Dow said its advanced materials unit, which hold assets from the legacy Rohm & Haas and is comprised of two reporting units, saw sales jump 13.6% to $2.73 billion.

Dow hopes to boost annual sales at the unit to $16 billion by 2015.

"We remain focused on realizing the full potential of our new portfolio and lean cost structure," Chief Executive Andrew Liveris said in a statement. "We continue to have confidence that momentum is gradually building, and we have not changed our view of a sustained global recovery led by Asia, slowly helped by the U.S. recovery, but with Europe lagging."

However, Liveris added: "Our U.S. macroeconomic view remains guardedly optimistic."

By The Numbers
Dow reported net income of $566 million, or 50 cents per share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $486 million or or 47 cents per share.

Excluding one-time items, earnings were 54 cents per share. By that measure, analysts expected 56 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue rose 20.3% to $13.62 billion. Analysts expected $13.69 billion.

Like the first quarter, Dow's basic plastics unit posted strong results, with sales up 26.2%. The unit's products go into a wide range of consumer goods, including diapers.

Dow has been trying to spin the unit off into a joint venture as part of its "asset-light" strategy to focus more on high-margin specialty chemicals.

The basic chemicals unit, which makes chlorine, one of the most mass-produced chemicals in the world, saw sales rise 25%.

Dow cut its long-term debt, much of which came from the Rohm & Haas buyout, by 5.5% to $18.11 billion.

Earnings from joint ventures, including the Dow Corning business with Corning, doubled to $244 million.

During the period Dow sold its Styron basic plastics unit to a private equity firm.

Last month the Midland, Mich.-based company said it would become a global sponsor of the Olympics, a move it hopes will boost its standing with the public and net more than a $1 billion in revenue over the next 10 years.

Dow also announced a licensing deal with Monsanto, whereby Dow's agricultural unit will use Monsanto's Roundup Ready 2 Yield herbicide trait in its genetically modified soybeans.

During the quarter, Dow shareholders rejected a "say-on-pay" proposal, despite having approved a similar measure last year.

Shares of the company fell $1.01, or 3.6%, to $27.32 in premarket trading. The stock has traded between $19.75 and $32.05 in the past 52 weeks.