UPDATE: Dow Chemical Swings To 2Q Loss; Sees 3Q Uptick

(Updates throughout with comment from company conference call, remarks about the future of Dow AgroSciences, and fresh share price)

By Ana Campoy and Mike Barris

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) reported a $344 million loss for the second quarter Thursday, but its chief executive forecast a sequential improvement in demand would continue in the three months to the end of September.

The U.S. chemical group was weighed down by restructuring and other charges, though its operating performance beat expectations and added weight to data on a stabilization in the global economy.

Dow and rivals have slashed capacity to counter the slump in demand that started at the end of 2008, but have been tweaking output amid signs of improvement in consumer and industrial end-markets.

Demand for most of its lines improved from the first quarter, though Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris was cautious about the prospects for a turnaround.

"We believe this is prudent given the uncertainty in the global economy," he said on a conference call.

Dow shares were recently up 7.5% at $21.80. The stock had climbed 26% so far this month and more than tripled since mid-March.

The improvement during the second quarter reflected an end to the rampant destocking of inventory seen at the start of the year.

Demand in China improved too, as the government's stimulus package sparked purchases of building materials and consumer products such as electronics.

Sector rivals remain cautious. Germany's BASF on Thursday cut its full-year outlook after second-quarter net profit fell 74%.

U.S.-based DuPont Co. (DD), which posted a 61% decline in profit last week, expects sales volumes in the third quarter to remain below year-ago levels and only to be slightly stronger in the fourth quarter than in the same period last year.

For Dow, the downturn comes at a time when it is reorganizing its business to absorb its acquisition of Rohm & Haas earlier this year and manage the heavy debt load it incurred to buy it.

On Thursday, Dow said it is selling its stake in OPTIMAL, a Kuala Lumpur-based commodity chemical joint venture, to its partner Petroliam Nasional Berhad, Malaysia's state-owned oil company, for $660 million. The proceeds will help repay a short-term loan the company used for the Rohm & Haas purchase.

Liveris said Thursday that the company is still considering selling or spinning off part or all of its profitable Dow AgroSciences unit, even though he would prefer to keep it within the company.

Dow's second-quarter loss of $344 million, or 47 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $762 million, or 81 cents a share. Excluding restructuring and other impact, Dow would have earned 5 cents in the latest quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently were looking for an 8-cent loss.

Revenue dropped 31% to $11.3 billion, below expectations of $13.02 billion.

Gross margin rose to 13.8% from 10.6%. Volume and selling prices each dropped 20% on a pro-forma basis, which excludes Rohm & Haas.

The company said it cut costs by $600 million since the beginning of the year, which helped offset lower demand for products.