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News Release

Dow Reaffirms Near-Term Earnings Target of $10 Billion EBITDA at 2011 Investor Day

Innovative New Products and Solutions, Integration Strength, Advantaged Feedstock Position and Enhanced Cost Structure Will Drive Earnings Growth

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) today reaffirmed financial targets and earnings roadmaps laid out in November 2009, including plans to deliver $10 billion in EBITDA(1) in the near-term. The Company also unveiled priorities and financial profiles for its new operating segments.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Liveris, in his keynote address to investors, presented Dow’s growth initiatives, and how innovations the Company is bringing to fast-growing markets and regions, coupled with its integration strength, feedstock advantage, and enhanced cost structure, will help Dow deliver higher future earnings growth, even in today’s uncertain economic environment.

“Dow’s diverse and broad participation and leadership across a vast number of industries and end-markets gives us unique insight into global economic trends,” said Liveris. “The world has slowed in its economic recovery, but we at Dow have the agility and flexibility as well as a diverse portfolio to rapidly respond to changing conditions, and we are operating from a position of financial strength.”

“We see bright spots in recession-resistant sectors such as agriculture, food packaging, energy, and health and nutrition. Furthermore, our diversified and well-balanced portfolio provides us with significant advantages in rapidly growing regions of the world – which continue to grow. We have aligned our operating segments to be even closer to our customers, and they reflect our shift to innovation-focused high-growth businesses. The Dow of today is focused on execution – we have purposefully designed a company that is built for times like these…and is built to grow.”

Liveris noted that since 2009, the Company has successfully rebalanced its portfolio toward markets that produce higher and more consistent profitability, such as electronics, agriculture, energy, infrastructure and health, while divesting commodity-oriented businesses of nearly $8 billion in revenue, with single-digit EBITDA margins.

This active portfolio management, combined with substantial cost synergies derived in the past two years, and significant, positive disruptive trends in shale gas dynamics, has delivered a new level of performance, producing structural enhancements representing more than $2 billion in EBITDA.

Drivers to Near-Term Targets

Liveris presented four key drivers that comprise Dow’s foundation for near-term earnings growth:

  • Innovation for Growth – Since 2009, Dow has delivered $400 million in EBITDA from innovation, and expects to reach nearly $1 billion in 2012 and $2 billion in 2015. Today Dow showcased new breakthrough technologies that will contribute to this target, including the official commercial launch of its POWERHOUSE™ solar shingle. In addition, Dow announced that D.R. Horton, one of the largest U.S. homebuilders, has entered into an agreement with Dow to be the first national homebuilder to offer the POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingles on their new homes.
  • Strategically Integrated Portfolio – Dow’s integrated portfolio is strategically aligned with geographies and key end-markets where megatrends are driving global growth. In particular, the Company’s new Performance Plastics division brings a singular focus on delivering market-oriented solutions that deliver faster, more profitable growth, and provide a foundation for less-volatile earnings. As a result, the Company unveiled new normalized margin targets for this division of 20 – 25 percent.
  • Compelling Feedstock Advantage – Dow’s global, flexible, and cost-advantaged feedstocks are a central component of its competitive advantage and growth strategy. Dow currently has 70 percent of its ethylene production in cost-advantaged regions. Recently announced U.S. Gulf Coast investments in ethylene and propylene integration, coupled with growing benefits from shale gas dynamics, are expected to deliver at least $2 billion in EBITDA by 2017.
  • Financial Strength and Efficiency for Growth – Dow retired more than $4 billion of gross debt in the first half of 2011, making significant progress toward its debt targets and lowering its interest expense by $250 million annually. The Company’s financial flexibility and productivity efforts are now being accelerated through Dow’s Efficiency for Growth program, which focuses on productivity, profitability, and reliability. In total, Efficiency for Growth is expected to deliver cash flow potential of more than $2 billion by 2015 and $450 million in cost savings by 2012.

“These drivers underpin our earnings growth path, and fundamentally define why we believe that Dow is a transformed enterprise,” Liveris said. “We are better able to respond quickly to headwinds, and also to take advantage of opportunities wherever they occur. Our earnings roadmap to $10 billion in EBITDA remains intact, and our focus is steadfast. The discipline and resolve we are applying today reflect the same focus you will see as we grow our businesses around the world.”

2011 Investor Day

Dow’s 2011 Investor Day was attended in-person by more than 150 investors and media in New York City, New York, and was webcast. A link to the webcast, as well as presentations from the event are available on Dow’s website at www.dow.com.

About The Dow Chemical Company

Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines the power of science and technology with the “Human Element” to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world’s most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow’s diversified industry leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2010, Dow had annual sales of $53.7 billion and employed approximately 50,000 people worldwide. The Company’s more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 188 sites in 35 countries across the globe. References to “Dow” or the “Company” mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

Note: The forward-looking statements contained in this document involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the Company’s operations, markets, products, services, prices and other factors as discussed in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, legal, governmental and technological factors. Accordingly, there is no assurance that the Company’s expectations will be realized. The Company assumes no obligation to provide revisions to any forward-looking statements should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws.

(1) EBITDA is defined as earnings (i.e., “Net Income”) before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization. A reconciliation of EBITDA to "Net Income Available for The Dow Chemical Company Common Stockholders" is provided following the Operating Segments table. EBITDA margin is EBITDA as a percentage of reported sales.

®Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow

Contacts

For editorial information:
The Dow Chemical Company
Rebecca Bentley
+1 989-638-8568
rmbentley@dow.com
or
Greg Baldwin
+1 989-638-0745
gbaldwin@dow.com