"The decrease in TiO[subscript]2 pigment sales was primarily due to lower unit volumes resulting from continued weakness in the global TiO[subscript]2 market, as well as aggressive pricing pressure from producers of white TiO[subscript]2 in China and other producers," the company said.
Gross margin fell as a result of lower average TiO[subscript]2 selling prices and a non-cash charge of $2.9m in Q4, related to the loss of disposal of its TiO[subscript]2 feedstock production fixed assets, as the company deemed it more cost effective to continue purchasing TiO[subscript]2 feedstock from alternative sources rather than resume production at its Malaysian plant.
"While difficult market conditions are expected to persist in the TiO[subscript]2 industry, we have taken significant cost out of our TiO[subscript]2 business such that we believe that we can produce income from this segment at low volume levels," he added
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