Dow Chemical 2014 Annual Report Download - page 9

2014 Annual Report 7
Fourth Quarter
• Dow achieves two critical milestones for the U.S.
commercialization of its ENLIST™ Weed Control System,
with registration from the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) of its ENLIST DUO™ herbicide and
deregulation of ENLIST™ corn and soybeans by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Company expects
this next-generation technology to deliver
significant growth for Dow while
also addressing the urgent
challenge of weed resistance.
Increasing yields through
improved weed control will
maximize grain output, thus
helping to feed the world’s
growing population.
Third Quarter
• Dow receives five R&D 100 awards for industry-
leading innovations such as its Preferred RCS™
Resin Coated Sand with Dow TERAFORCE™
Technology – an innovative new
product that helps improve
oil productivity and
the environmental
profile of the hydraulic
fracturing process,
which is at the heart of
the U.S. energy boom,
manufacturing
renaissance and
job creation.
• Dow announces it will begin construction on the
world’s first large-scale, cadmium-free quantum dot
manufacturing facility at its Cheonan, South Korea,
ENLIST DUO™ herbicide
addresses the urgent
challenge of weed resistance.
site. The new facility will enable the manufacture of
millions of quantum dot televisions and other display
applications to meet growing consumer demand.
• Dow is named among the top 50 innovation
companies in the United States by CNBC, based on
its ability to increase revenue from R&D. Dow is
the only chemical company to make CNBC’s list.
This recognition reflects Dow’s Human Element
at Work — as Dow employees work together to
develop advanced solutions based in science and
improve the human condition.
• Dow is named for the 14th time to the Dow Jones
Sustainability World Index.
• Dow more than doubles its sales forecast for its award-
winning INFUSE™ Olefin Block Copolymers (OBCs) for
use in athletic shoe midsoles, enhancing the resilience,
softness and durability of high-performance footwear.
• Dow increases its divestiture target to $7 billion to
$8.5 billion to be completed by mid-2016. Since 2013,
proceeds received or expected to be received from
divestitures and sales of non-strategic assets total
more than $2.9 billion.
• Dow announces a new operating structure to maximize
the Company’s integration benefits through molecular
and value chain alignment, and to enhance visibility
into operating performance.
• To deliver additional value to shareholders and redeploy
capital for more strategic purposes, Dow announces its
intention to reconfigure and reduce its equity base in
the Company’s Kuwait joint ventures.
• Dow signs a definitive agreement under which its global
Sodium Borohydride business will be sold to Vertellus
Specialty Materials LLC (Vertellus).
• Dow signs a definitive agreement under which ANGUS
Chemical Company will be sold to Golden Gate Capital
for $1.215 billion.
Dow TERAFORCE™ Technology
improves oil productivity and
the environmental prole of the
hydraulic fracturing process.
Dow achieves nine consecutive quarters of year-over-year
adjusted EPS, EBITDA and EBITDA margin increases.
• Reinforcing its commitment to increasingly reward
shareholders, Dow’s Board of Directors declares its
second dividend increase in 2014 — up 14 percent,
from $0.37 per share to $0.42 per share in the fourth
quarter, and announces a new $5 billion tranche to its
share repurchase program to be completed in line with
portfolio actions and increases in operating cash flows.