UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form 10-Q


þ☑   QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934


For the quarterly period ended March 31, 20192020
OR
o☐   TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934


Commission File Number 001-38176


vntr-20200331_g1.jpg
Venator Materials PLC
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

England and Wales98-1373159
(State or other jurisdiction(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
of incorporation or organization)
Titanium House, Hanzard Drive, Wynyard Park,
Stockton-On-Tees, TS22 5FD, United Kingdom
+44 (0) 1740 608 001
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each classTrading Symbol(s)Name of each exchange on which registered
Ordinary Shares, $0.001 par value per shareVNTRNew York Stock Exchange
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
YES þ NO oYes ☑ No ☐


Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).
YES þ NO oYes ☑ No ☐


Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company," and "emerging growth company," in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filerþ
Accelerated filero
Non-accelerated filero
Smaller reporting companyo
Emerging growth companyo


If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  o


Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
YES o NO þ
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each classTrading Symbol(s)Name of each exchange on which registered
Ordinary Shares, $0.001 par value per shareVNTRNew York Stock Exchange
Yes ☐ No ☑

As of May 2, 2019,April 30, 2020, the registrant had outstanding 106,558,572106,735,892 ordinary shares, $0.001 par value per share.






Table of Contents
VENATOR MATERIALS PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES
QUARTERLY REPORT ON FORM 10‑Q FOR THE QUARTERLY PERIOD
ENDED MARCH 31, 2019


TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Venator Materials PLC and our other registered and common-law trade names, trademarks, and service marks appearing in this Quarterly Report on Form 10‑Q for the three months ended March 31, 2019 (this "Quarterly Report") are the property of Venator Materials PLC or our subsidiaries.

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GENERAL


Except when the context otherwise requires or where otherwise indicated, (1) all references to "Venator," the "Company," "we," "us" and "our" refer to Venator Materials PLC and its subsidiaries, (2) all references to "Huntsman" refer to Huntsman Corporation and its subsidiaries, (3) all references to the "Titanium Dioxide" segment or business refer to the titanium dioxide ("TiO2")business of Venator, (4) all references to the "Performance Additives" segment or business refer to the functional additives, color pigments, timber treatment and water treatment businesses of Venator, and (5) we refer to the internal reorganization prior to our initial public offering ("IPO"), the separation transactions initiated to separate the Venator business from Huntsman’s other businesses, including the entry into and effectiveness of the separation agreement and ancillary agreements, and the financing arrangements and debt, comprising the senior secured term loan facility (the "Term Loan Facility"), the asset-based revolving facility (the "ABL Facility" and, together with the Term Loan Facility, the "Senior Credit Facilities") and the 5.75% senior notes due 2025 (the "Senior Notes"), including the use of the net proceeds of the Senior Credit Facilities and the Senior Notes, which were used to repay intercompany debt we owed to Huntsman and to pay related fees and expenses, as the "separation," which occurred on August 8, 2017.


NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS


Certain information set forth in this report contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"). All statements other than historical or current factual information are forward-looking statements, including without limitation statements regarding: projections of revenue, expenses, profit, margins, tax rates, tax provisions, cash flows, pension and benefit obligations and funding requirements, our liquidity position or other projected financial measures; management’s plans and strategies for future operations, including statements relating to anticipated operating performance, cost reductions, construction cost estimates, restructuring activities, new product and service developments, competitive strengths or market position, acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs or other distributions, strategic opportunities, securities offerings, share repurchases, dividends and executive compensation; growth, declines and other trends in markets we sell into; new or modified laws, regulations and accounting pronouncements; legal proceedings, environmental, health and safety ("EHS") matters, tax audits and assessments and other contingent liabilities; foreign currency exchange rates and fluctuations in those rates; general economic and capital markets conditions; the timing of any of the foregoing; assumptions underlying any of the foregoing; and any other statements that address events or developments that we intend or believe will or may occur in the future. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "anticipates," "estimates" or "intends" or the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy. We may also make additional forward-looking statements from time to time. All such subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, by us or on our behalf, are also expressly qualified by these cautionary statements.

Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and expectations of future events which may not be accurate or realized. Forward-looking statements also involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. Important factors that may materially affect such forward-looking statements and projections include:
 
the impacts and duration of the global outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 ("COVID-19") pandemic on the global economy and all aspects of our business including our employees, customers, suppliers, partners' results of operations, financial condition and liquidity;
volatile global economic conditions;
cyclical and volatile TiO2 product applications;
cyclical and volatile product applications;
highly competitive industries and the need to innovate and develop new products;
industry production capacity and operating rates;
high levels of indebtedness;
our ability to successfully transfer production of certain specialtymaintain sufficient working capital to fund our operations and differentiated products fromcapital expenditures, and service our Pori, Finland manufacturing facility to other sites within our manufacturing network and the costs associated with such transfer and the closure of the facility;debt;
economic conditions and regulatory changes following the likely exit of the United Kingdom (the "U.K.") from the European Union ("EU");
increased manufacturing regulations for some of our products, including the outcome of the pending potential classification of TiO2 as a carcinogen in the EU or any increased regulatory scrutiny;
disruptions in production at our manufacturing facilities and our ability to cover resulting costs, including construction costs,obtain future capital on favorable terms;
planned and lost revenue with insurance proceeds;unplanned production shutdowns, turnarounds, outages and other disruptions at our or our suppliers' manufacturing facilities;
fluctuations in currency exchange rates and tax rates;

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price volatility orany changes to the prices at which we purchase raw materials and energy, any interruptions in supply of raw materials and energy;energy, or any changes in regulations impacting raw materials and our supply chain;
increased manufacturing, labeling and waste disposal regulations associated with some of our ability to realize financial and operational benefits from our business improvement plans and initiatives;products, including the classification of TiO2 as a carcinogen in the European Union ("EU") or any increased regulatory scrutiny;
changes to laws, regulations or the interpretation thereof;
our ability to successfully grow and transform our business including by way of acquisitions, divestments and restructuring initiatives;activities;
our ability to successfully transfer production of certain specialty and differentiated products formerly produced at our Pori, Finland manufacturing facility to other sites within our manufacturing network;
our ability to develop new products or successfully transfer production of existing products within our manufacturing network;
fluctuations in currency exchange rates and tax rates;
our ability to adequately protect our critical information technology systems;
impacts on the markets for our products and the broader global economy from the imposition of tariffs by the U.S. and other countries;
our ability to realize financial and operational benefits from our business improvement plans and initiatives;
changes to laws, regulations or the interpretation thereof;
differences in views with our joint venture participants;
high levels of indebtedness;
EHS laws and regulations;
our ability to obtain future capital on favorable terms;
seasonal sales patterns in our product markets;
our ability to successfully defend legal claims against us, or to pursue legal claims against third parties;
economic conditions and regulatory changes following the exit of the United Kingdom (the "U.K.") from the EU;
seasonal sales patterns in our ability to adequately protect our critical information technology systems;product markets;
our ability to comply with expanding data privacy regulations;
failure to maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting and disclosure;
our indemnification of Huntsman and other commitments and contingencies;
financial difficulties and related problems experienced by our customers, vendors, suppliers and other business partners;
the effects of public health crises on the global economy, our business, employees, supply chain and customers;
conflicts, military actions, terrorist attacks, public health crises, including the occurrence of a contagious disease or illness, cyber-attacks and general instability;
failure to enforce our intellectual property rights; and
our ability to effectively manage our labor force; andforce.
conflicts, military actions, terrorist attacks, cyber-attacks and general instability.


All forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, management’s examination of historical operating trends, are based upon our current expectations and various assumptions. Our expectations, beliefs and projections are expressed in good faith and we believe there is a reasonable basis for them, but there can be no assurance that management’s expectations, beliefs and projections will result or be achieved. All forward-looking statements apply only as of the date made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements whether because of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by securities and other applicable law.

There are a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in or contemplated by this report. Any forward-looking statements should be considered in light of the risks set forth in "Part II. Item 1A. Risk Factors."



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PART I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)


VENATOR MATERIALS PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Unaudited)
(In millions, except par value)March 31, 2019 December 31, 2018(In millions, except par value)March 31, 2020December 31, 2019
ASSETSASSETSASSETS
Current assets:   Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents(a)
$80
 $165
Cash and cash equivalents(a)
$25  $55  
Accounts receivable (net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $4 and $5, respectively)(a)
400
 351
Accounts receivable (net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $4, each)(a)
Accounts receivable (net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $4, each)(a)
367  321  
Accounts receivable from affiliates10
 
Accounts receivable from affiliates10  —  
Inventories(a)
503
 538
Inventories(a)
492  513  
Prepaid expenses17
 20
Prepaid expenses16  21  
Other current assets53
 51
Other current assets58  67  
Total current assets1,063
 1,125
Total current assets968  977  
Property, plant and equipment, net(a)
985
 994
Property, plant and equipment, net(a)
948  989  
Operating lease right-of-use assets44
 
Operating lease right-of-use assets, net(a)
Operating lease right-of-use assets, net(a)
40  43  
Intangible assets, net(a)
15
 16
Intangible assets, net(a)
20  21  
Investment in unconsolidated affiliates84
 83
Investment in unconsolidated affiliates94  92  
Deferred income taxes178
 178
Deferred income taxes35  33  
Other noncurrent assets97
 89
Other noncurrent assets118  110  
Total assets$2,466
 $2,485
Total assets$2,223  $2,265  
LIABILITIES AND EQUITYLIABILITIES AND EQUITYLIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities:   Current liabilities:
Accounts payable(a)
$331
 $382
Accounts payable(a)
$284  $334  
Accounts payable to affiliates15
 18
Accounts payable to affiliates17  17  
Accrued liabilities(a)
124
 135
Accrued liabilities(a)
104  116  
Current operating lease liability10
 
Current operating lease liability(a)
Current operating lease liability(a)
  
Current portion of debt(a)
7
 8
Current portion of debt(a)
70  13  
Total current liabilities487
 543
Total current liabilities483  488  
Long-term debt739
 740
Long-term debt736  737  
Operating lease liability36
 
Operating lease liability(a)
Operating lease liability(a)
34  37  
Other noncurrent liabilities298
 313
Other noncurrent liabilities281  300  
Noncurrent payable to affiliates34
 34
Noncurrent payable to affiliates30  30  
Total liabilities1,594
 1,630
Total liabilities1,564  1,592  
Commitments and contingencies (Notes 12 and 13)
 
Commitments and contingencies (Notes 11 and 12)Commitments and contingencies (Notes 11 and 12)
Equity   Equity
Ordinary shares $0.001 par value, 200 shares authorized, each, 107 and 106 issued and outstanding, respectively
 
Ordinary shares $0.001 par value, 200 shares authorized, each, 107 issued and outstanding, eachOrdinary shares $0.001 par value, 200 shares authorized, each, 107 issued and outstanding, each—  —  
Additional paid-in capital1,317
 1,316
Additional paid-in capital1,324  1,322  
Retained deficit(99) (96)Retained deficit(264) (271) 
Accumulated other comprehensive loss(354) (373)Accumulated other comprehensive loss(408) (385) 
Total Venator Materials PLC shareholders' equity864
 847
Total Venator Materials PLC shareholders' equity652  666  
Noncontrolling interest in subsidiaries8
 8
Noncontrolling interest in subsidiaries  
Total equity872
 855
Total equity659  673  
Total liabilities and equity$2,466
 $2,485
Total liabilities and equity$2,223  $2,265  

(a)
At March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the following amounts from consolidated variable interest entities are included in the respective balance sheet captions above: $5 each of cash and cash equivalents; $6 and $5 of accounts receivable, net; $1 each of inventories; $5 each of property, plant and equipment, net; $14 each of intangible assets, net; $1 each of accounts payable; $3 and $4 of accrued liabilities; and $2 each of current portion of debt, respectively. See "Note 6. Variable Interest Entities."

(a) At March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the following amounts from consolidated variable interest entities are included in the respective balance sheet captions above: $6 and $2 of cash and cash equivalents; $5 and $4 of accounts receivable, net; $2 each of inventories; $5 each of property, plant and equipment, net; $1 each of operating lease right-of-use assets; $11 each of intangible assets, net; $1 each of accounts payable; $2 and $3 of accrued liabilities; $1 each of operating lease liabilities; and $2 and NaN of current portion of debt. See "Note 5. Variable Interest Entities."

See notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

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VENATOR MATERIALS PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Unaudited)
Three months ended
March 31,
(Dollars in millions, except per share amounts)20202019
Trade sales, services and fees, net$532  $562  
Cost of goods sold471  486  
Operating expenses:
Selling, general and administrative42  47  
Restructuring, impairment, and plant closing and transition costs 12  
Other operating expense, net—   
Total operating expenses49  67  
Operating income12   
Interest expense(13) (14) 
Interest income  
Other income  
Income (loss) before income taxes (1) 
Income tax benefit (expense) (1) 
Net income (loss) (2) 
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests(1) (1) 
Net income (loss) attributable to Venator$ $(3) 
Per Share Data:
Earnings (loss) attributable to Venator Materials PLC ordinary shareholders, basic$0.07  $(0.03) 
Earnings (loss) attributable to Venator Materials PLC ordinary shareholders, diluted$0.07  $(0.03) 
 Three months ended
March 31,
(Dollars in millions, except per share amounts)2019 2018
Trade sales, services and fees, net$562
 $622
Cost of goods sold486
 454
Operating expenses:   
Selling, general and administrative47
 54
Restructuring, impairment, and plant closing and transition costs12
 9
Other operating expense (income), net8
 (3)
Total operating expenses67
 60
Operating income9
 108
Interest expense(14) (13)
Interest income3
 3
Other income1
 2
(Loss) income before income taxes(1) 100
Income tax expense(1) (20)
Net (loss) income(2) 80
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests(1) (2)
Net (loss) income attributable to Venator$(3) $78
    
Net (losses) earnings per share:   
Basic (loss) income attributable to Venator Materials PLC ordinary shareholders$(0.03) $0.73
Diluted (loss) income attributable to Venator Materials PLC ordinary shareholders$(0.03) $0.73


See notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

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VENATOR MATERIALS PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
(Unaudited)

Three months ended
March 31,
Three months ended
March 31,
(Dollars in millions)2019 2018(Dollars in millions)20202019
Net (loss) income$(2) $80
Other comprehensive income, net of tax:   
Net income (loss)Net income (loss)$ $(2) 
Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax:Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax:
Foreign currency translation adjustment11
 57
Foreign currency translation adjustment(36) 11  
Pension and other postretirement benefits adjustments4
 3
Pension and other postretirement benefits adjustments  
Hedging instruments4
 (7)Hedging instruments10   
Total other comprehensive income, net of tax19
 53
Comprehensive income17
 133
Total other comprehensive (loss) income, net of taxTotal other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax(23) 19  
Comprehensive (loss) incomeComprehensive (loss) income(15) 17  
Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interest(1) (2)Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interest(1) (1) 
Comprehensive income attributable to Venator$16
 $131
Comprehensive (loss) income attributable to VenatorComprehensive (loss) income attributable to Venator$(16) $16  


See notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

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VENATOR MATERIALS PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EQUITY
(Unaudited)
Total Venator Materials PLC Equity
Ordinary SharesAdditional Paid-in CapitalRetained DeficitAccumulated Other Comprehensive LossNoncontrolling Interest in SubsidiariesTotal
(In millions)SharesAmount
Balance, January 1, 2020107$—  $1,322  $(271) $(385) $ $673  
Net income—  —   —    
Other comprehensive loss, net of tax—  —  —  (23) —  (23) 
Dividends paid to noncontrolling interests—  —  —  —  (1) (1) 
Activity related to stock plans—   —  —  —   
Balance, March 31, 2020107$—  $1,324  $(264) $(408) $ $659  
 Total Venator Materials PLC Equity    
 Ordinary Shares Additional Paid-in Capital Retained Deficit Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss Noncontrolling Interest in Subsidiaries Total
(In millions)SharesAmount     
Balance, January 1, 2019106
$
 $1,316
 $(96) $(373) $8
 $855
Net (loss) income

 
 (3) 
 1
 (2)
Net changes in other comprehensive income

 
 
 19
 
 19
Dividends paid to noncontrolling interests

 
 
 
 (1) (1)
Activity related to stock plans1

 1
 
 
 
 1
Balance, March 31, 2019107
$
 $1,317
 $(99) $(354) $8
 $872


Total Venator Materials PLC Equity
Ordinary SharesAdditional Paid-in CapitalRetained DeficitAccumulated Other Comprehensive LossNoncontrolling Interest in SubsidiariesTotal
(In millions)SharesAmount
Balance, January 1, 2019106$—  $1,316  $(96) $(373) $ $855  
Net (loss) income—  —  (3) —   (2) 
Other comprehensive income, net of tax—  —  —  19  —  19  
Dividends paid to noncontrolling interests—  —  —  —  (1) (1) 
Activity related to stock plans1—   —  —  —   
Balance, March 31, 2019107$—  $1,317  $(99) $(354) $ $872  
 Total Venator Materials PLC Equity    
 Ordinary Shares Additional Paid-in Capital Retained Earnings Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss Noncontrolling Interest in Subsidiaries Total
(In millions)SharesAmount     
Balance, January 1, 2018106
$
 $1,311
 $67
 $(283) $10
 $1,105
Net income

 
 78
 
 2
 80
Net changes in other comprehensive income

 
 
 53
 
 53
Dividends paid to noncontrolling interests

 
 
 
 (2) (2)
Activity related to stock plans

 1
 
 
 
 1
Balance, March 31, 2018106
$
 $1,312
 $145
 $(230) $10
 $1,237


See notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

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VENATOR MATERIALS PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(Unaudited)
Three months ended March 31,Three months ended March 31,
(Dollars in millions)2019 2018(Dollars in millions)20202019
Operating Activities:   Operating Activities:
Net (loss) income$(2) $80
Adjustments to reconcile net (loss) income to net cash (used in) provided by operating activities:   
Net income (loss)Net income (loss)$ $(2) 
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in operating activities:Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization26
 34
Depreciation and amortization28  26  
Deferred income taxes(1) 9
Deferred income taxes(3) (1) 
Noncash restructuring and impairment charges4
 3
Noncash restructuring and impairment charges  
Insurance proceeds for business interruption, net of gain on recovery
 19
Noncash loss (gain) on foreign currency transactions4
 (4)
Noncash loss on foreign currency transactionsNoncash loss on foreign currency transactions  
Other, net4
 2
Other, net  
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:   Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable(61) (50)Accounts receivable(62) (61) 
Inventories35
 (12)Inventories 35  
Prepaid expenses3
 5
Prepaid expenses  
Other current assets(2) (9)Other current assets (2) 
Other noncurrent assets
 1
Other noncurrent assets(5) —  
Accounts payable(22) 7
Accounts payable(20) (22) 
Accrued liabilities(8) (27)Accrued liabilities(11) (8) 
Other noncurrent liabilities(9) (7)Other noncurrent liabilities(13) (9) 
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities(29) 51
Net cash used in operating activitiesNet cash used in operating activities(58) (29) 
Investing Activities:   Investing Activities:
Capital expenditures(52) (73)Capital expenditures(31) (52) 
Cash received from unconsolidated affiliates6
 9
Cash received from unconsolidated affiliates14   
Investment in unconsolidated affiliates(7) (3)Investment in unconsolidated affiliates(16) (7) 
Cash received from notes receivableCash received from notes receivable —  
Net cash used in investing activities(53) (67)Net cash used in investing activities(27) (53) 
Financing Activities:   Financing Activities:
Net proceeds from short-term debtNet proceeds from short-term debt63  —  
Net payments on notes payableNet payments on notes payable(5) —  
Repayment of third-party debt(2) (6)Repayment of third-party debt(1) (2) 
Dividends paid to noncontrolling interests(1) (2)Dividends paid to noncontrolling interests(1) (1) 
Net cash used in financing activities(3) (8)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activitiesNet cash provided by (used in) financing activities56  (3) 
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash
 9
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash(1) —  
Net change in cash and cash equivalents(85) (15)Net change in cash and cash equivalents(30) (85) 
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period165
 238
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period55  165  
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period$80
 $223
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period$25  $80  
Supplemental cash flow information:   Supplemental cash flow information:
Cash paid for interest$18
 $19
Cash paid for interest$14  $18  
Cash paid for income taxes1
 15
Cash paid for income taxes—   
Supplemental disclosure of noncash activities:   Supplemental disclosure of noncash activities:
Capital expenditures included in accounts payable as of March 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively$36
 $33
Capital expenditures included in accounts payable as of March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectivelyCapital expenditures included in accounts payable as of March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively$28  $36  


See notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

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VENATOR MATERIALS PLC AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS


Note 1. General, Description of Business, Recent Developments and Basis of Presentation

General

For convenience in this report, the terms "Venator," "we," "us" or "our" may be used to refer to Venator Materials PLC and its subsidiaries.


Description of Business


Venator became an independent publicly traded company following our IPO and separation from Huntsman Corporation in August 2017. Venator operates in two2 segments: Titanium Dioxide and Performance Additives. The Titanium Dioxide segment primarily manufactures and sells TiO2, and operates eightseven TiO2 manufacturing facilities across the globe.globe, excluding our plant in Pori, Finland, ongoing closure of which was announced in the third quarter of 2018. The Performance Additives segment manufactures and sells functional additives, color pigments, timber treatment and water treatment chemicals. This segment operates 16 manufacturing and processing facilities globally.


Basis of Presentation


Our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP" or "U.S. GAAP") and in management’s opinion reflect all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of results of operations, comprehensive income, financial positioncondition and cash flows for the periods presented. Results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of those to be expected for the full year. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated and combined financial statements and notes to consolidated and combined financial statements included in the Annual Report on Form 10‑K10-K for the year ended December 31, 20182019 for our Company.


The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

In the notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, all dollar and share amounts, except per share amounts, in tabulations are in millions unless otherwise indicated.


Recent DevelopmentsCOVID-19


AcquisitionIn March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic and recommended containment and mitigation measures worldwide. We are closely monitoring the impacts of Tronox European Paper Laminates Business

On April 26, 2019,COVID-19 on our business, and although the COVID-19 pandemic did not have a material impact on our financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2020, we completedexpect that the COVID-19 pandemic will have negative impacts on our acquisitionfuture results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. The duration and severity of the European paper laminatesoutbreak and its long-term impacts on our business (the "8120 Grade") from Tronox Limited (“Tronox”) for a purchase price of €8 million payable as follows: €1 million upon completion of the acquisition and the remaining €7 million in two installments over two years. In connection with the acquisition, Tronox will supply the 8120 Grade to us under a Transitional Supply Agreement until the transfer of the manufacturing of the 8120 Grade to our Greatham, U.K., facility has been completed.cannot be fully determined at this time.


A separate agreement with Tronox entered into on July 14, 2018 requires that Tronox promptly pay us a “break fee” of $75 million upon the consummation of Tronox’s merger with The National Titanium Dioxide Company Limited (“Cristal”) once the sale of the European paper laminates business to us has been consummated, if the sale of Cristal’s Ashtabula manufacturing complex to us has not been completed. The deadline for such payment is May 13, 2019. On April 26, 2019, Tronox publicly stated that it believes it is not obligated to pay the break fee. Therefore, we may have to seek judicial relief to enforce our agreement concerning the break fee.

Note 2. Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements


Accounting Pronouncements Adopted During the Period


Effective January 1, 2019,2020, we adopted ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) using the modified retrospective approach which applies the provisions of the standard at the effective date without adjusting the comparative periods

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presented. The adoption of this ASU did not result in a cumulative effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings. This ASU requires substantially all leases to be recognized on the balance sheet as right-of-use assetsAccounting Standards Update ("ROU assets"ASU") and lease obligations. Additional qualitative and quantitative disclosures are also required. Adoption of the new standard resulted in the recording of an operating lease ROU asset of $47 million and a lease liability of $49 million. The adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on our condensed consolidated statements of operations or cash flows. Our accounting for finance leases remained substantially unchanged.

We elected the following optional practical expedients allowed under the ASU: (i) we applied the package of practical expedients permitting entities not to reassess under the new standard our prior conclusions about lease identification, classification or initial direct costs for any leases existing prior to the effective date; (ii) we elected to account for lease and associated non-lease components as a single lease component for all asset classes with the exception of buildings and (iii) we do not recognize ROU assets and related lease obligations with lease terms of 12 months or less from the commencement date.

In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-02, Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220). This standard provides an option to reclassify stranded tax effects within accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to retained earnings due to the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate change in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the "Tax Act"). This standard is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018. The adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on our unaudited condensed consolidated statement of comprehensive income.

Accounting Pronouncements Pending Adoption in Future Periods

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326), Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. The amendments in this ASU replace the incurred loss impairment methodology with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses. This update is intended to providelosses for financial statement users with more decision-useful information aboutassets, including trade receivables, held at the expected credit lossesreporting date, based on financial instrumentshistorical experience, current conditions, and other commitments to extend credit held by a reporting entity at each reporting date.reasonable and supportable information. The new standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. We have completed our assessment and we doof this ASU did not anticipate this will have a material impact on our condensed consolidated financial statements.


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Accounting Pronouncements Pending Adoption in Future Periods

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-14, Compensation—Retirement Benefits—Defined Benefit Plans—General (Subtopic 715-20). The amendments in this ASU add, remove, and clarify disclosure requirements related to defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans. This ASU eliminates the requirement to disclose the amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income expected to be recognized as part of net periodic benefit cost over the next year. The ASU also removes the disclosure requirements for the effects of a one-percentage-point change on the assumed health care costs and the effect of this change in rates on service cost, interest cost and the benefit obligation for postretirement health care benefits. This standard is effective for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2020, and must be applied on a retrospective basis. SinceWe do not expect the adoption of this ASU is related to disclosure requirements only, this adoption will not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.


In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848). The amendments in this ASU temporarily simplify the accounting for contract modifications, including hedging relationships, due to the transition from London Interbank Offering Rate ("LIBOR") and other interbank offered rates to alternative reference interest rates. For example, entities can elect not to remeasure the contracts at the modification date or reassess a previous accounting determination if certain conditions are met. Additionally, entities can elect to continue applying hedge accounting for hedging relationships affected by reference rate reform if certain conditions are met. This standard was effective upon issuance and generally can be applied to applicable contract modifications through December 31, 2022. We are currently evaluating the impact of the transition from LIBOR to alternative reference interest rates on our financial statements.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740). The amendments in this ASU remove certain exceptions related to the approach for intraperiod tax allocation, the methodology for calculating income taxes in an interim period, and the recognition of deferred tax liabilities for outside basis differences. The guidance also clarifies and simplifies other areas of ASC Topic 740. This standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, with early adoption permitted. Certain adjustments in this update must be applied on a prospective basis, certain amendments must be applied on a retrospective basis and certain amendments must be applied on a modified retrospective basis through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings in the period of adoption. We are currently evaluating the impact of this ASU on our financial statements and related disclosures.

Note 3. LeasesRevenue

We have leases for warehouses, office space, land, office equipment, production equipment and automobiles. ROU assets and lease obligations are recognized at the lease commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. Operating lease ROU assets and liabilities are included in operating lease right-of-use assets, current operating lease liabilities, and operating lease liabilities on our condensed consolidated balance sheet. Finance leases ROU assets are included in property, plant and equipment, net, while finance lease liabilities are included in other non-current liabilities. As the implicit rate is not readily determinable in most of our lease arrangements, we use our incremental borrowing rate based on information available at the commencement date in order to determine the net present value of lease payments. We give consideration to our recent debt issuances as well as publicly available data for instruments with similar characteristics when calculating our incremental borrowing rates. We have lease agreements that contain lease and non-lease components.


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We determine if an arrangement is a lease or contains a lease at inception. Certain leases contain renewal options that can extend the term of the lease for one year or more. Our leases have remaining lease terms of up to 93 years, some of which include options to extend the lease term for up to 20 years. Options are recognized as part of our ROU assets and lease liabilities when it is reasonably certain that we will extend that option. Sublease arrangements and leases with residual value guarantees, sale leaseback terms or material restrictive covenants, are immaterial. Lease payments include fixed and variable lease components. Variable components are derived from usage or market-based indices, such as the consumer price index. We do not have leases which have not yet commenced that will commence during 2019 as of March 31, 2019.

The components of lease expense were as follows:
Lease CostThree months ended
March 31, 2019
Operating lease cost$4
Finance lease cost: 
     Amortization of right-of-use assets
     Interest on lease liabilities
Short-term lease cost1

Supplemental balance sheet information related to leases was as follows:
Leases
As of
March 31, 2019
Assets 
    Operating Lease Right-of-Use Assets$44
  
Finance Lease Right-of-Use Assets, at cost$13
Accumulated Depreciation(4)
Finance Lease Right-of-Use Assets, net$9
  
Liabilities 
Operating Lease Obligation 
Current$10
Non-Current36
Total Operating Lease Liabilities$46
  
Finance Lease Obligation 
Current$1
Non-Current8
Total Finance Lease Liabilities$9
Cash paid for amounts included in the present value of operating lease liabilities were as follows:
Cash Flow InformationThree months ended
March 31, 2019
Operating cash flows from operating leases$4
Operating cash flows from finance leases
Financing cash flows from finance leases


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Lease Term and Discount RateAs of
March 31, 2019
Average remaining lease term (years)
Operating leases13.5
Finance leases6.9
Average discount rate
Operating leases7.3%
Financing leases5.2%
Maturities of lease liabilities were as follows:
March 31, 2019Operating Leases Finance Leases Total
2019 (remaining)$10
 $1
 $11
202010
 2
 12
20218
 2
 10
20226
 1
 7
20234
 1
 5
After 202338
 4
 42
Total lease payments$76
 $11
 $87
Less: Interest30
 2
 32
Present value of lease liabilities$46
 $9
 $55

Disclosures related to periods prior to adoption of the New Lease Standard
The total expense recorded under operating lease agreements in the consolidated and combined statements of operations was $16 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. Future minimum lease payments under noncancelable operating leases as of December 31, 2018 were as follows:
 December 31,Operating Leases Capital Leases
2019$13
 $1
202011
 2
20219
 1
20226
 1
20234
 1
Thereafter40
 7
Total$83
 $13
Less: Amounts representing interest  3
Present value of minimum lease payments  $10
Less: Current portion of capital leases  1
Long-term portion of capital leases  $9

Note 4. Revenue


We generate substantially all of our revenues through sales of inventory in the open market and via long-term supply agreements. At contract inception, we assess the goods promised in our contracts and identify a performance obligation for each promise to transfer to the customer a good that is distinct.distinct good. In substantially all cases, a contract has a single performance obligation to deliver a promised good to the customer. Revenue is recognized when the performance obligations under the terms of our contracts are satisfied. Generally, this occurs at the time of shipping, at which point the control of the goods transfers to the customer. Further, in determining whether control has transferred, we consider if

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there is a present right to payment and legal title, along with risks and rewards of ownership having transferred to the customer. Revenue is measured as the amount of consideration we expect to receive in exchange for transferred goods. Sales, value-added,value added, and other taxes we collect concurrent with revenue-producing activities are excluded from revenue. Incidental items that are immaterial in the context of the contract are recognized as expense. We have elected to account for all shipping and handling activities as fulfillment costs. We recognize these costs for shipping and handling when control over products have transferred to the customer as an expense in cost of goods sold. We have also elected to expense commissions when incurred as the amortization period of the commission asset that we would have otherwise recognized is less than one year.


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The following table disaggregates our revenuerevenues by major geographical region for the three months ended March 31, 20192020 and 2018:2019:
Three Months Ended March 31, 2020Three Months Ended March 31, 2019
Titanium DioxidePerformance AdditivesTotalTitanium DioxidePerformance AdditivesTotal
Europe$206  $50  $256  $213  $55  $268  
North America76  57  133  77  57  134  
Asia77  20  97  92  21  113  
Other43   46  43   47  
Total Revenues$402  $130  $532  $425  $137  $562  
  Three Months Ended March 31, 2019 Three Months Ended March 31, 2018
  Titanium Dioxide Performance Additives Total Titanium Dioxide Performance Additives Total
Europe $213
 $55
 $268
 $241
 $58
 $299
North America 77
 57
 134
 71
 77
 148
Asia 92
 21
 113
 96
 27
 123
Other 43
 4
 47
 48
 4
 52
Total Revenues $425
 $137
 $562
 $456
 $166
 $622


The following table disaggregates our revenuerevenues by major product line for the three months ended March 31, 20192020 and 2018:2019:
Three Months Ended March 31, 2020Three Months Ended March 31, 2019
Titanium DioxidePerformance AdditivesTotalTitanium DioxidePerformance AdditivesTotal
TiO2
$402  $—  $402  $425  $—  $425  
Color Pigments—  62  62  —  70  70  
Functional Additives—  33  33  —  32  32  
Timber Treatment—  29  29  —  29  29  
Water Treatment—    —    
Total Revenues$402  $130  $532  $425  $137  $562  
  Three Months Ended March 31, 2019 Three Months Ended March 31, 2018
  Titanium Dioxide Performance Additives Total Titanium Dioxide Performance Additives Total
TiO2
 $425
 $
 $425
 $456
 $
 $456
Color Pigments 
 70
 70
 
 82
 82
Functional Additives 
 32
 32
 
 41
 41
Timber Treatment 
 29
 29
 
 37
 37
Water Treatment 
 6
 6
 
 6
 6
Total Revenues $425
 $137
 $562
 $456
 $166
 $622

The amount of consideration we receive and revenue we recognize is based upon the terms stated in the sales contract, which may contain variable consideration such as discounts or rebates. We also give our customers a limited right to return products that have been damaged, do not satisfy their specifications, or for other specific reasons. Payment terms on product sales to our customers typically range from 30 days to 90 days. Although certain exceptions exist where standard payment terms are exceeded, these instances are infrequent and do not exceed one year. Discounts are allowed for some customers for early payment or if certain volume commitments are met. As our standard payment terms are less than one year, we have elected to not assess whether a contract has a significant financing component. In order to estimate the applicable variable consideration at the time of revenue recognition, we use historical and current trend information to estimate the amount of discounts, rebates, or returns to which customers are likely to be entitled. Historically, actual discount or rebate adjustments relative to those estimated and accrued at the point of which revenue is recognized have not materially differed.



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Note 5.4. Inventories


Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market, with cost determined using first-in, first-out and average cost methods for different components of inventory. Inventories at March 31, 20192020 and December 31, 20182019 consisted of the following:
March 31, 2020December 31, 2019
Raw materials and supplies$158  $166  
Work in process49  49  
Finished goods285  298  
Total$492  $513  


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 March 31, 2019 December 31, 2018
Raw materials and supplies$135
 $165
Work in process53
 56
Finished goods315
 317
Total$503
 $538


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Note 6.5. Variable Interest Entities


We evaluate our investments and transactions to identify variable interest entities for which we are the primary beneficiary. We hold a variable interest in the following joint ventures for which we are the primary beneficiary:


Pacific Iron Products Sdn Bhd is our 50%-owned joint venture with Coogee Chemicals that manufactures products for Venator. It was determined that the activities that most significantly impact its economic performance are raw material supply, manufacturing and sales. In this joint venture we supply all the raw materials through a fixed cost supply contract, operate the manufacturing facility and market the products of the joint venture to customers. Through a fixed price raw materials supply contract with the joint venture we are exposed to the risk related to the fluctuation of raw material pricing. As a result, we concluded that we are the primary beneficiary.


Viance, LLC ("Viance") is our 50%-owned joint venture with DowDuPont.DuPont de Nemours, Inc. Viance markets timber treatment products for Venator. We have determined that the activity that most significantly impacts Viance’s economic performance is manufacturing. The joint venture sources all of its products through a contract manufacturing arrangement at our Harrisburg, North Carolina facility and we bear a disproportionate amount of working capital risk of loss due to the supply arrangement whereby we control manufacturing on Viance’s behalf. As a result, we concluded that we are the primary beneficiary.


Creditors of these entities have no recourse to Venator’s general credit. As the primary beneficiary of these variable interest entities at March 31, 2019,2020, the joint ventures’ assets, liabilities and results of operations are included in Venator’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.


The revenues, income before income taxes and net cash provided by operating activities for our variable interest entities for the three months ended March 31, 20192020 and 20182019 are as follows:
Three months ended
March 31,
20202019
Revenues$23  $22  
Income before income taxes  
Net cash provided by operating activities  



 Three months ended
March 31,
 2019 2018
Revenues$22
 $31
Income before income taxes2
 4
Net cash provided by operating activities2
 9




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Note 7.6. Restructuring, Impairment, and Plant Closing and Transition Costs


Venator has initiated various restructuring programs in an effort to reduce operating costs and maximize operating efficiency.


Restructuring Activities


Rockwood AcquisitionCompany-wide Restructuring


In December 2014,January 2019, we implemented a comprehensive restructuring programplan to reduce costs and improve the global competitivenessefficiency of our Titanium Dioxide and Performance Additives segments.certain company-wide functions. As part of the program, we reduced our workforce by approximately 900 positions. In connection with this restructuring program, we recorded restructuring expense of nil eachNaN for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and $3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019, and 2018.all of which related to workforce reductions. We do not expect that additional costs related to incur any additional charges as part of this program and the remaining cash payments of approximately $4 millionplan will be made through the end of 2020.immaterial.


Titanium Dioxide Segment


In July 2016, we implemented a plan to close our Umbogintwini, South Africa Titanium Dioxidetitanium dioxide manufacturing facility. As part of the program, we recorded restructuring expense of nilNaN for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and $1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019, and 2018, respectively, all of which related to plant shut downshutdown costs. We expect further charges as part of this program to incur additional plant shut down costsbe immaterial.

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Table of approximately $1 million through the end of 2019.Contents

In March 2017, we implemented a plan to close the white endwhite-end finishing and packaging operation of our Titanium Dioxidetitanium dioxide manufacturing facility at our Calais, France site. The announced plan follows the 2015 closure of the black end manufacturing operations and would result in the closure of the entire facility. As part of the program, we recorded restructuring expense of $1$2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and $5$1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019, and 2018, respectively, all of which related to plant shut downshutdown costs. We expect to incur additional plant shut downshutdown costs of approximately $7$15 million through 2020.2023.


In September 2018, we implemented a plan to close our Pori, Finland Titanium Dioxidetitanium dioxide manufacturing facility. As part of the program, we recorded restructuring expense of $4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020, of which $1 million was related to accelerated depreciation, $1 million related to employee benefits, and $2 million related to plant shutdown costs. This restructuring expense consists of a noncash expense of $1 million and $3 million of cash expense. We recorded restructuring expense of approximately $6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019, of which $3 million was related to accelerated depreciation, $2 million was related to employee benefits, and $1 million was related to plant shutdownshut down costs. This restructuring expense consistsconsisted of $3 million of cash and $3 million of noncash charges. We expect to incur additional charges of approximately $121$95 million through the end of 2024, of which $33$8 million relates to accelerated depreciation, $86$83 million relates to plant shut down costs, $2 million relates to other employee costs and $2 million relates to the write off of other assets. Future charges consist of $35$10 million of noncash costs and $86$85 million of cash costs.


Performance Additives Segment

In September 2017, we implemented a plan to close our Performance Additives manufacturing facilities in St. Louis and Easton. As part of the program, we recorded restructuring expense of nil and $3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, all of which related to accelerated depreciation. We do not expect to incur any additional charges as part of this program.


In August 2018, we implemented a plan to close our Performance Additives manufacturing site in Beltsville, Maryland. As part of the program, we recorded restructuring expense of NaN for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and $1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019, all of which related to accelerated depreciation. We do not expect to incur any additional accelerated depreciation of approximately $1 million through the remainder of 2019.


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Corporate Restructuring

In January 2019, we announced a plan to reduce costs and improve efficiency of certain corporate functions. Ascharges as part of the program, we recorded restructuring expense of $3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019, all of which related to workforce reductions.this program.


Accrued Restructuring and Plant Closing and Transition Costs


As of March 31, 20192020 and December 31, 2018,2019, accrued restructuring and plant closing and transition costs by type of cost and year of initiative consisted of the following:
Workforce reductions(1)
Other restructuring costs
Total(2)
Accrued liabilities as of December 31, 2019$15  $ $16  
2020 charges for 2019 and prior initiatives   
2020 charges for 2020 initiatives—  —  —  
2020 payments for 2019 and prior initiatives(6) (3) (9) 
2020 payments for 2020 initiatives—  —  —  
Foreign currency effect on liability balance—  —  —  
Accrued liabilities as of March 31, 2020$12  $ $13  
 
Workforce reductions(1)
 Other restructuring costs 
Total(2)
Accrued liabilities as of December 31, 2018$32
 $
 $32
2019 charges for 2018 and prior initiatives2
 2
 4
2019 charges for 2019 initiatives4
 
 4
2019 payments for 2018 and prior initiatives(9) (2) (11)
2019 payments for 2019 initiatives(1) 
 (1)
Accrued liabilities as of March 31, 2019$28
 $
 $28

(1)
The total workforce reduction reserves of $28 million relate to the termination of 467 positions, of which 26 positions had been terminated but not yet paid as of March 31, 2019.
(2)
Accrued liabilities remaining at March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018 by year of initiatives were as follows:

(1)The total workforce reduction reserves of $12 million relate to the termination of 171 positions, of which 9 positions have been terminated but require future payment as of March 31, 2020.
(2)Accrued liabilities remaining at March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 by year of initiatives were as follows:
March 31, 2020December 31, 2019
2018 initiatives and prior$13  $16  
2019 initiatives—  —  
2020 initiatives—  —  
Total$13  $16  

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 March 31, 2019 December 31, 2018
2017 initiatives and prior$14
 $18
2018 initiatives11
 14
2019 initiatives3
 
Total$28
 $32

Details with respect to our reserves for restructuring, impairment and plant closing and transition costs are provided below by segment and year of initiative:
Titanium
Dioxide
Performance
Additives
Total
Accrued liabilities as of December 31, 2019$16  $—  $16  
2020 charges for 2019 and prior initiatives   
2020 charges for 2020 initiative—  —  —  
2020 payments for 2019 and prior initiatives(8) (1) (9) 
2020 payments for 2020 initiatives—  —  —  
Accrued liabilities as of March 31, 2020$13  $—  $13  
Current portion of restructuring reserves$ $—  $ 
Long-term portion of restructuring reserve$ $—  $ 
 Titanium Dioxide Performance Additives Total
Accrued liabilities as of December 31, 2018$32
 $
 $32
2019 charges for 2018 and prior initiatives4
 
 4
2019 charges for 2019 initiatives4
 
 4
2019 payments for 2018 and prior initiatives(11) 
 (11)
2019 payments for 2019 initiatives(1) 
 (1)
Accrued liabilities as of March 31, 2019$28
 $
 $28
Current portion of restructuring reserves17
 
 17
Long-term portion of restructuring reserve11
 
 11


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Restructuring, Impairment and Plant Closing and Transition Costs


Details with respect to major cost type of restructuring charges and impairment of assets for the three months ended March 31, 20192020 and 20182019 by initiative are provided below:
Three months ended
March 31,
20202019
Cash charges$ $ 
Accelerated depreciation  
Total Restructuring, Impairment and Plant Closing and Transition Costs$ $12  

Note 7. Debt
 Three months ended
 March 31, 2019
Cash charges$8
Accelerated depreciation4
Total 2019 Restructuring, Impairment and Plant Closing and Transition Costs$12
 Three months ended
 March 31, 2018
Cash charges$6
Accelerated depreciation3
Total 2018 Restructuring, Impairment and Plant Closing and Transition Costs$9

Note 8. Debt


Outstanding debt, net of debt issuance costs of $14 million, and $13 millioneach, as of March 31, 20192020 and December 31, 2018, respectively,2019, consisted of the following:
March 31, 2020December 31, 2019
Senior Notes$371  $371  
Term Loan Facility361  361
Other74  18
Total debt806  750
Less: short-term debt and current portion of long-term debt70  13
Long-term debt$736  $737  
 March 31, 2019 December 31, 2018
Senior Notes$370
 $370
Term Loan Facility363
 365
Other13
 13
Total debt746
 748
Less: short-term debt and current portion of long-term debt7
 8
Long-term debt$739
 $740


The estimated fair value of the Senior Notes was $326$292 million and $300$346 million as of March 31, 20192020 and December 31, 2018,2019, respectively. The estimated fair value of the Term Loan Facility was $366$317 million and $355$365 million as of March 31, 20192020 and December 31, 2018,2019, respectively. The estimated fair values of the Senior Notes and the Term Loan Facility are based upon quoted market prices (Level 1).


The aggregate principal outstanding under our ABL Facility was $60 million and NaN as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively.

The weighted average interest rate on our outstanding balances under the Senior Notes and Term Loan Facility as of March 31, 20192020 was approximately 5%4%.



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Senior Notes

On July 14, 2017,Our Senior Notes are general unsecured senior obligations of our subsidiaries Venator Finance S.à.r.l. and Venator Materials LLC (the "Issuers") entered into an indenture in connection with the issuance of the Senior Notes. The Senior Notes are general unsecured senior obligations of the Issuers and are guaranteed on a general unsecured senior basis by Venator and certain of
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Venator’s subsidiaries. The indenture related to the Senior Notes imposes certain limitations on the ability of Venator and certain of its subsidiaries to, among other things, incur additional indebtedness secured by any principal properties, incur indebtedness of non-guarantor subsidiaries, enter into sale and leaseback transactions with respect to any principal properties and consolidate or merge with or into any other person or lease, sell or transfer all or substantially all of its properties and assets. The Senior Notes bear interest of 5.75% per year payable semi-annually and will mature on July 15, 2025. The Issuers may redeem the Senior Notes in whole or in part at any time prior to July 15, 2020 at a price equal to 100% of the principal amount thereof plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, and an early redemption premium, calculated on an agreed percentage of the outstanding principal amount, providing compensation on a portion of foregone future interest payables. The Senior Notes will be redeemable in whole or in part at any time on or after July 15, 2020 at the redemption prices set forth in the indenture, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, up to, but not including, the redemption date. In addition, at any time prior to July 15, 2020, the Issuers may redeem up to 40% of the aggregate principal amount of the Senior Notes with an amount not greater than the net cash proceeds of certain equity offerings or contributions to Venator’s equity at 105.75% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but not including, the redemption date. Upon the occurrence of certain change of control events (other than the separation), holders of the Venator Notes will have the right to require that the Issuers purchase all or a portion of such holder’s Senior Notes in cash at a purchase price equal to 101% of the principal amount thereof plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the date of repurchase.


Senior Credit Facilities


On August 8, 2017, we entered into theOur Senior Credit Facilities that provide for first lien senior secured financing of up to $675 million, consisting of:


the Term Loan Facility in an aggregate principal amount of $375 million, with a maturity of seven years; and
the ABL Facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $300 million, with a maturity of five years.


The Term Loan Facility amortizes in aggregate annual amounts equal to 1% of the original principal amount of the Term Loan Facility and is paid quarterly.


On June 20, 2019 the ABL Facility was increased to an aggregate principal amount of up to $350 million, with no change to the maturity dates.

Availability to borrow under the $300$350 million of commitments under the ABL Facility is subject to a borrowing base calculation comprised of accounts receivable and inventory in U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany and accounts receivable in France and Spain, that fluctuate from time to time and may be further impacted by the lenders’ discretionary ability to impose reserves and availability blocks that might otherwise incrementally increase borrowing availability. As a result, the aggregate amount available for extensions of credit under the ABL Facility at any time is the lesser of $300$350 million and the borrowing base calculated according to the formula described above minus the aggregate amount of extensions of credit outstanding under the ABL Facility at such time.


Borrowings under the Term Loan Facility bear interest at a rate equal to, at Venator’s option, either (a) a London Interbank Offering Rate ("LIBOR")LIBOR based rate determined by reference to the costs of funds for Eurodollar deposits for the interest period relevant to such borrowing, adjusted for certain additional costs subject to an interest rate floor to be agreed or (b) a base rate determined by reference to the highest of (i) the rate of interest per annum determined from time to time by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. as its prime rate in effect at its principal office in New York City, (ii) the federal funds rate plus 0.50% per annum and (iii) the one-month adjusted LIBOR plus 1.00% per annum, in each case plus an applicable margin to be agreed upon. Borrowings under the ABL Facility bear interest at a variable rate equal to an applicable margin based on the applicable quarterly average excess availability under the ABL Facility plus either a LIBOR or a base rate. The applicable margin percentage is calculated and established once every three calendar months and varies from 150 to 200 basis points for LIBOR loans depending on the quarterly average excess availability under the ABL Facility for the immediately preceding three-month period.

15


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Guarantees


All obligations under the Senior Credit Facilities are guaranteed by Venator and substantially all of our subsidiaries (the "Guarantors"), and are secured by substantially all of the assets of Venator and the Guarantors, in each case subject to certain exceptions. Lien priority as between the Term Loan Facility and the ABL Facility with respect to the collateral will be governed by an intercreditor agreement.


Letters of Credit
As of March 31, 2020 we had $71 million issued and outstanding letters of credit and bank guarantees to third parties. Of this amount, $49 million were issued by various banks on an unsecured basis with the remaining $22 million issued from our secured ABL facility.

Note 9.8. Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities


To reduce cash flow volatility from foreign currency fluctuations, we enter into forward and swap contracts to hedge portions of cash flows of certain foreign currency transactions. We do not use derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes.


Cross-Currency Swaps


In December 2017, we entered into three3 cross-currency swap agreements to convert a portion of our intercompany fixed-rate, U.S. dollarDollar denominated notes, including the semi-annual interest payments and the payment of remaining principal at maturity, to a fixed-rate, Euro denominated debt. The economic effect of the swap agreement was to eliminate the uncertainty of the cash flows in U.S. Dollars associated with the notes by fixing the principleexchanging a notional amount of $200 million at a fixed rate of 5.75% for €169 million with a fixed annual rate of 3.43%. These hedges have beenwere designated as cash flow hedges and the critical terms of the cross-currency swap agreements correspond to the underlying hedged item. These swaps mature inhad a maturity date of July 2022, which is ourwas the best estimate of the repayment date of these intercompany loans. The amount and timing of the semi-annual principle payments under the cross-currency swap also correspond with the terms of the intercompany loans. Gains

In August 2019, we terminated the 3 cross-currency interest rate swaps entered into in 2017, resulting in cash proceeds of $15 million. Concurrently, we entered into 3 new cross-currency interest rate swaps which notionally exchanged $200 million at a fixed rate of 5.75% for €181 million on which a weighted average rate of 3.73% is payable. The cross-currency swaps have been designated as cash flow hedges of a fixed rate U.S. Dollar intercompany loan and losses from these hedges offset the changeseconomic effect is to eliminate uncertainty on the U.S. Dollar cash flows. The cross-currency swaps are set to mature in July 2024, which is the valuebest estimate of interest and principal payments as a result of changes in foreign exchange rates.the repayment date on the intercompany loan.

We formally assessed the hedging relationship at the inception of the hedge in order to determine whether the derivatives that are used in the hedging transactions are highly effective in offsetting cash flows of the hedged item and we will continue to assess the relationship on an ongoing basis. We use the hypothetical derivative method in conjunction with regression analysis to measure effectiveness of our cross-currency swap agreement.

The changes in the fair value of the swaps are deferred in other comprehensive income and subsequently recognized in other income in the unaudited condensed consolidated statement of operations when the hedged item impacts earnings. Cash flows related to our cross-currency swap that relate to our periodic interest settlement will be classified as operating activities and the cash flows that relates to principal balances will be designated as financing activities. The fair value of these hedges was $10an asset of $8 million and $6a liability of $3 millionat March 31, 20192020 and December 31, 2018,2019, respectively, and was recorded as other noncurrent liabilitiesassets on our unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets. We estimate the fair values of our cross-currency swaps by taking into consideration valuations obtained from a third-party valuation service that utilizes an income-based industry standard valuation model for which all significant inputs are observable either directly or indirectly. These inputs include foreign currency exchange rates, credit default swap rates and cross-currency basis swap spreads. The cross-currency swap has been classified as Level 2 because the fair value is based upon observable market-based inputs or unobservable inputs that are corroborated by market data.
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For the three months ended March 31, 20192020 and 2018,2019, the change in accumulated other comprehensive loss associated with these cash flow hedging activities was a gain of $4$11 million and a loss of $7$4 million, respectively. As of March 31, 2019,2020, we do not expect to reclassify any accumulated other comprehensive loss of nil is expected to be reclassified to earnings during the next twelve months. The actual amount that will be reclassified to earnings over the next twelve months may vary from this amount due to changing market conditions.

We would be exposed to credit losses in the event of nonperformance by a counterparty to our derivative financial instruments. We continually monitor our position and the credit rating of our counterparties, and we do not anticipate nonperformance by the counterparties.

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Forward Currency Contracts Not Designated as Hedges

We transact business in various foreign currencies and we enter into currency forward contracts to offset the risks associated with foreign currency exposure. At March 31, 20192020 and December 31, 2018,2019, we had $102$64 million and $89$75 million, respectively, notional amount (in U.S. dollarDollar equivalents) outstanding in foreign currency contracts with a term of approximately one month. The contracts are valued using observable market rates (Level 2).

Note 10.9. Income Taxes


Venator uses the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes. Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial and tax reporting purposes. We evaluate deferred tax assets to determine whether it is more likely than not that they will be realized. Valuation allowances are reviewed on a tax jurisdiction basis to analyze whether there is sufficient positive or negative evidence to support a change in judgment about the realizability of the related deferred tax assets for each jurisdiction. These conclusions require significant judgment. In evaluating the objective evidence that historical results provide, we consider the cyclicality of Venator and cumulative income or losses during the applicable period. Cumulative losses incurred over the period limits our ability to consider other subjective evidence such as our projections for the future. Changes in expected future income in applicable tax jurisdictions could affect the realization of deferred tax assets in those jurisdictions.


We recorded income tax benefit of $2 million and income tax expense of $1 million and $20 million, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 20192020 and 2018,2019, respectively. Our tax expense is significantly affected by the mix of income and losses in tax jurisdictions in which we operate, as impacted by the presence of valuation allowances in certain tax jurisdictions.


For U.S. federal income tax purposes Huntsman recognized a gain as a result of the IPO and the separation to the extent the fair market value of the assets associated with our U.S. businesses exceeded the basis of such assets for U.S. federal income tax purposes at the time of the separation. As a result of such gain recognized, the basis of the assets associated with our U.S. businesses was increased. This basis step up gave rise to a deferred tax asset of $36 million that we recognized for the year ended December 31, 2017.


Pursuant to the Tax Matters Agreement dated August 7, 2017, entered into by and among Venator Materials PLC and Huntsman (the "Tax Matters Agreement") at the time of the separation, we are required to make a future payment to Huntsman for any actual U.S. federal income tax savings we recognize as a result of any such basis increase for tax years through December 31, 2028. It is currently estimated (based on a value of our U.S. businesses derived from the IPO price of our ordinary shares and current tax rates) that the aggregate future payments required by this provision are expected to be approximately $34$30 million. As of March 31, 20192020 and December 31, 2018,2019, this "Noncurrent payable to affiliates" was $34$30 million, each, on our unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets. Moreover, any subsequent adjustment asserted by U.S. taxing authorities could increase the amount of gain recognized and the corresponding basis increase, and could result in a higher liability for us under the Tax Matters Agreement.


On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into U.S. tax law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act, among other things, includes provisions relating to refundable payroll tax credits, deferment of employer social security payments, net operating loss carryback periods, eliminating NOL limitations, alternative minimum tax credit refunds, and modifications to the net interest deduction limitations. The CARES Act did not have a material impact to our income tax provision for the three months ended March 31, 2020.
17


Note 11.10. Earnings Per Share


Basic earnings per share excludes dilution and is computed by dividing net income attributable to Venator ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share reflects all potential dilutive ordinary shares outstanding during the period and is computed by dividing net income available to Venator ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period increased by the number of additional shares that would have been outstanding as dilutive securities.
 

20



Basic and diluted earnings per share are determined using the following information:
Three months ended
March 31,
20202019
Numerator:
Net income (loss) attributable to Venator Materials PLC ordinary shareholders$ $(3) 
Denominator:
Weighted average shares outstanding106.7  106.5  
Dilutive share-based awards—  0.3  
Total weighted average shares outstanding, including dilutive shares106.7  106.8  
 Three months ended
March 31,
 2019 2018
Numerator:   
Basic and diluted net (loss) income:   
Net (loss) income attributable to Venator Materials PLC ordinary shareholders$(3) $78
Denominator:   
Weighted average shares outstanding106.5
 106.4
Dilutive share-based awards0.3
 0.4
Total weighted average shares outstanding, including dilutive shares106.8
 106.8




For the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018,2020, the number of anti-dilutive employee share-based awards excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share was 3 million. For the three months ended March 31, 2019, the number of anti-dilutive employee share-based awards excluded from the computation of dilutive earnings per share was 1 million and nil, respectively.million.


Note 12.11. Commitments and Contingencies


Legal Proceedings


Shareholder Litigation


On February 8, 2019 we, certain of our executive officers, Huntsman and certain banks who acted as underwriters in connection with our IPO and secondary offering were named as defendants in a proposed class action civil suit filed in the District Court for the State of Texas, Dallas County (the "Dallas District Court"), by an alleged purchaser of our ordinary shares in connection with our IPO on August 3, 2017 and our secondary offering on December 1,November 30, 2017. The plaintiff, Macomb County Employees’ Retirement System, alleges that inaccurate and misleading statements were made regarding the impact to our operations, and prospects for restoration thereof, resulting from the fire that occurred at our Pori, Finland manufacturing facility, among other allegations. Additional complaints making substantially the same allegations were filed in the Dallas District Court by the Firemen's Retirement System of St. Louis on March 4, 2019 and by Oscar Gonzalez on March 13, 2019, with the third case naming two of our directors as additional defendants. The first two ofcases filed in the three cases have beenDallas District Court were consolidated into a single action, In re Venator Materials PLC Securities Litigation.

On May 8, 2019, we filed a "special appearance" in the Dallas District Court action contesting the court’s jurisdiction over the Company and a motion to transfer venue to Montgomery County, Texas and on June 7, 2019 we expectand certain defendants filed motions to dismiss. On July 9, 2019, a hearing was held on certain of these motions, which were subsequently denied. On January 21, 2020, the thirdCourt of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas reversed the Dallas District Court’s order that denied the special appearances of Venator and certain other defendants, and rendered judgment dismissing the claims against Venator and certain other defendants for lack of jurisdiction. The Court of Appeals also remanded the case for the Dallas District Court to beenter an order transferring the claims against Huntsman to the Montgomery County District Court. On March 19, 2020, plaintiffs from the Dallas District Court case filed suit in New York State Court (New York County) against Venator and the other defendants dismissed from the Dallas District Court case, making substantially the same allegations as were filed in the Dallas District Court.

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An additional case was filed on July 31, 2019, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by the City of Miami General Employees' & Sanitation Employees' Retirement Trust, making substantially the same allegations, adding claims under sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the U.S. Exchange Act, and naming all of our directors as additional defendants. A case also was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas by the Cambria County Employees Retirement System on September 13, 2019, making substantially the same allegations as those made by the plaintiff in the case pending in the Southern District of New York. On October 29, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered an order transferring the case brought by the city of Miami General Employees' & Sanitation Employees' Retirement Trust to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, where it was consolidated into a single action with themthe case brought by the Cambria County Employees' Retirement Trust and is now known as well. In re: Venator Materials PLC Securities Litigation. On January 17, 2020, plaintiffs in the consolidated federal action filed a consolidated class action complaint. On February 18, 2020, all defendants joined in a motion to dismiss the consolidated complaint, which plaintiffs have opposed, and for which oral argument has been scheduled for May 14, 2020.

The plaintiffs in these cases seek to determine that the proceedingproceedings should be certified as a class actionactions and to obtain alleged compensatory damages, costs, rescission and equitable relief. We may be required to indemnify our executive officers and directors, Huntsman, and the banks who acted as underwriters in our IPO and secondary offerings, for losses incurred by them in connection with these matters pursuant to our agreements with such parties. Because of the early stage of this litigation, we are unable to reasonably estimate any possible loss or range of loss and we have not accrued for a loss contingency with regard to these matters.

Tronox Litigation

On April 26, 2019, we acquired intangible assets related to the European paper laminates product line from Tronox. A separate agreement with Tronox entered into on July 14, 2018 requires that Tronox promptly pay us a “break fee” of $75 million upon the consummation of Tronox’s merger with The National Titanium Dioxide Company Limited (“Cristal”) once the sale of the European paper laminates business to us was consummated, if the sale of Cristal’s Ashtabula manufacturing complex to us was not completed. The deadline for such payment was May 13, 2019. On April 26, 2019, Tronox publicly stated that it believes it is not obligated to pay the break fee.

On May 14, 2019, we commenced a lawsuit in the Delaware Superior Court against Tronox arising from Tronox's breach of its obligation to pay the break fee. We are seeking a judgment for $75 million, plus pre- and post-judgment interest, and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. On June 17, 2019, Tronox filed an answer denying that it is obligated to pay the break fee and asserting affirmative defenses and counterclaims of approximately $400 million, alleging that we failed to negotiate the purchase of the Ashtabula complex in good faith. Discovery is ongoing in this matter. Because of the early stage of this litigation, we are unable to reasonably estimate any possible gain, loss or range of gain or loss and we have not made any accrual with regard to this matter.


Neste Engineering Services Matter


We are party to an arbitration proceeding initiated by Neste Engineering Services Oy (“NES”) on December 19, 2018 for payment of invoices allegedly due of approximately €14 million in connection with the delivery of services by NES to the Company in respect of the Pori site rebuild project. These invoices were accrued in full on our unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2019. We are contesting the validity of these invoices and filed counterclaims against NES on March 8, 2019. The timetable forIn the arbitration proceeding, our defense and counterclaim were filed on April 17, 2020.

On July 2, 2019, NES separately instigated a lawsuit in Finland for €1.6 million of unpaid invoices, which we are contesting. We are fully accrued for these invoices and they are reflected in our unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2020.

Calais Pipeline Matter

The Region Hauts-de-France (the “Region”) has issued 2 duplicate title perception demands against us requiring repayment of €12 million. This sum was previously paid to us by the Region under a settlement agreement, pursuant to which we were required to move an effluent pipeline at our Calais site. We filed claims with the Administrative Court in Lille, France on February 14, 2018 and April 12, 2018, requesting orders that the demands be set
19


aside, which suspended enforcement of the demands. On July 12, 2018, the court set aside the first demand. The second demand remains suspended, but in dispute. The parties have lodged various arguments and responses regarding the second demand with the court. The court hearing for this matter has been postponed due to court closures in France resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gasum Arbitration

We entered into a natural gas supply agreement with Skangass Oy (now Gasum LNG Oy) in 2015 to supply natural gas to our Pori, Finland manufacturing facility. The initial fixed term of the agreement was ten years. We are entitled to terminate the agreement upon closure of the facility by giving 12 months’ notice of the closure. Upon such termination, a compensation fee would be payable to Gasum.

The agreement requires us to purchase a minimum annual quantity, subject to a mechanism for making up shortfalls. The minimum annual quantity can be reduced (even to zero) in the event of a “Force Majeure Event". We declared that the fire at our Pori facility in January 2017 was a Force Majeure Event under the agreement, reducing the minimum annual quantity to the actual quantity purchased. Gasum alleges that this Force Majeure Event subsequently ceased to apply, and that we were thereafter again obliged to purchase the original minimum annual quantity.

Gasum continues to supply natural gas to the Pori facility. On April 17, 2020, Gasum filed arbitration proceedings seeking declaratory relief to require us to take or pay the original minimum annual quantities of natural gas. In their request, Gasum estimated that the monetary value of declaratory relief to be approximately €27 million should we close the Pori facility by the end of 2022. Because of the early stage of this proceeding, we are unable to reasonably estimate any possible loss or range of loss and we have not yet been set.accrued for a loss contingency with regard to this matter.


Other Proceedings


We are a party to various other proceedings instituted by private plaintiffs, governmental authorities and others arising under provisions of applicable laws, including various environmental, products liability and other laws. Except as otherwise disclosed in these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, we do not believe that the outcome of any of these matters will have a material effect on our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.



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Note 13.12. Environmental, Health and Safety Matters


Environmental, Health and Safety Capital Expenditures


We may incur future costs for capital improvements and general compliance under EHS laws, including costs to acquire, maintain and repair pollution control equipment. For the three months ended March 31, 20192020 and 2018,March 31, 2019, our capital expenditures for EHS matters totaled $4$6 million and $1$4 million, respectively. Because capital expenditures for these matters are subject to evolving regulatory requirements and depend, in part, on the timing, promulgation and enforcement of specific requirements, our capital expenditures for EHS matters have varied significantly from year to year and we cannot provide assurance that our recent expenditures are indicative of future amounts we may spend related to EHS and other applicable laws. A number of our EHS capital expenditures will be subject to extended timelines as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Changes to timelines may be related to regulatory orders or guidelines that cause suppliers or contractors to cease or slow down operational activities, including as a result of changes to social distancing rules, among other factors. The impacts may vary significantly between different jurisdictions.


Environmental Reserves


We accrue liabilities relating to anticipated environmental cleanup obligations, site reclamation and closure costs, and known penalties. Liabilities are recorded when potential liabilities are either known or considered probable and can be reasonably estimated. Our liability estimates are calculated using present value techniques as appropriate and are based upon requirements placed upon us by regulators, available facts, existing technology, and past experience. The environmental liabilities do not include amounts recorded as asset retirement obligations. As of March 31, 20192020 and December 31, 2018,2019, we had environmental reserves of $11$8 million and $12$9 million, respectively.

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Environmental Matters


We have incurred, and we may in the future incur, liabilityliabilities to investigate and clean up waste or contamination at our current or former facilities or facilities operated by third parties at which we may have disposed of waste or other materials. Similarly, we may incur costs for the cleanup of waste that was disposed of prior to the purchase of our businesses. Under some circumstances, the scope of our liability may extend to damages to natural resources.


In the EU, the Environmental Liability Directive (Directive 2004/35/EC) has established a framework based on the "polluter pays" principle for the prevention and remediation of environmental damage, which establishes measures to prevent and remedy environmental damage. The directive defines "environmental damage" as damage to protected species and natural habitats, damage to water and damage to soil. Operators carrying out dangerous activities listed in the Directive are strictly liable for remediation, even if they are not at fault or negligent.


Under EU Directive 2010/75/EU on industrial emissions, permitted facility operators may be liable for significant pollution of soil and groundwater over the lifetime of the activity concerned. We are in the process of plant closures at facilities in the EU and liability to investigate and clean up waste or contamination may arise during the surrender of operators' permits at these locations under the directive and associated legislation such as the Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC) and the Groundwater Directive (Directive 2006/118/EC).


Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ("CERCLA") and similar state laws, a current or former owner or operator of real property in the U.S. may be liable for remediation costs regardless of whether the release or disposal of hazardous substances was in compliance with law at the time it occurred, and a current owner or operator may be liable regardless of whether it owned or operated the facility at the time of the release. Outside the U.S., analogous contaminated property laws, such as those in effect in France, can hold past owners and/or operators liable for remediation at former facilities. We have not been notified by third parties of claims against us for cleanup liabilities at former facilities or third-party sites, including, but not limited to, sites listed under CERCLA.


Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act in the U.S. and similar state laws, we may be required to remediate contamination originating from our properties as a condition to our hazardous waste permit. Some of our manufacturing sites have an extended history of industrial chemical manufacturing and use, including on-site waste disposal and we have made accruals for related remediation activity. We are aware of soil, groundwater or surface contamination from past operations at some of our sites and have made accruals for related remediation activity, and we may find contamination at other sites in the future. Similar laws exist in a number of locations in which we currently operate, or previously operated, manufacturing facilities.


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Pori Remediation


In connection with our previously announced intention to close our TiO2 manufacturing facility in Pori, Finland, we expect to incur environmental costs related to the cleanup of the facility upon its eventual closure, including remediation costs related to the landfill located on the site.and closure costs. While we do not currently have enough information to be able to estimate the range of potential costs for the cleanupclosure of this facility, these costs could be material to our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.


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Note 14.13. Other Comprehensive Income


Other comprehensive income consisted of the following:
Foreign currency translation adjustment(a)
Pension and other postretirement benefits adjustments net of tax(b)
Other comprehensive loss of unconsolidated affiliatesHedging InstrumentsTotalAmounts attributable to noncontrolling interestsAmounts attributable to Venator
Beginning balance, January 1, 2020$(97) $(295) $(5) $12  $(385) $—  $(385) 
Other comprehensive (loss) income before reclassifications, gross(36) —  —  11  (25) —  (25) 
Tax expense—  —  —  (1) (1) —  (1) 
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss, gross(c)
—   —  —   —   
Tax expense—  —  —  —  —  —  —  
Net current-period other comprehensive (loss) income(36)  —  10  (23) —  (23) 
Ending balance,
  March 31, 2020
$(133) $(292) $(5) $22  $(408) $—  $(408) 
 
Foreign currency translation adjustment(a)
 
Pension and other postretirement benefits adjustments net of tax(b)
 Other comprehensive loss of unconsolidated affiliates Hedging Instruments Total Amounts attributable to noncontrolling interests Amounts attributable to Venator
Beginning balance, January 1, 2019$(96) $(278) $(5) $6
 $(373) $
 $(373)
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications, gross11
 
 
 4
 15
 
 15
Tax benefit
 
 
 
 
 
 
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss, gross(c)

 4
 
 
 4
 
 4
Tax expense
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net current-period other comprehensive income11
 4
 
 4
 19
 
 19
Ending balance,
  March 31, 2019
$(85) $(274) $(5) $10
 $(354) $
 $(354)


Foreign currency translation adjustment(d)
Pension and other postretirement benefits adjustments net of tax(e)
Other comprehensive loss of unconsolidated affiliatesHedging InstrumentsTotalAmounts attributable to noncontrolling interestsAmounts attributable to Venator
Beginning balance, January 1, 2019$(96) $(278) $(5) $ $(373) $—  $(373) 
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications, gross11  —  —   15  —  15  
Tax expense—  —  —  —  —  —  —  
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss, gross(c)
—   —  —   —   
Tax expense—  —  —  —  —  —  —  
Net current-period other comprehensive income11   —   19  —  19  
Ending balance,
  March 31, 2019
$(85) $(274) $(5) $10  $(354) $—  $(354) 
 
Foreign currency translation adjustment(d)
 
Pension and other postretirement benefits adjustments net of tax(e)
 Other comprehensive loss of unconsolidated affiliates Hedging Instruments Total Amounts attributable to noncontrolling interests Amounts attributable to Venator
Beginning balance, January 1, 2018$(6) $(267) $(5) $(5) $(283) $
 $(283)
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications, gross57
 
 
 (7) 50
 
 50
Tax benefit
 
 
 
 
 
 
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss, gross(c)

 3
 
 
 3
 
 3
Tax expense
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net current-period other comprehensive income (loss)57
 3
 
 (7) 53
 
 53
Ending balance,
  March 31, 2018
$51
 $(264) $(5) $(12) $(230) $
 $(230)

(a)Amounts are net of tax of NaN as of March 31, 2020 and January 1, 2020, each.
(b)Amounts are net of tax of $50 million as of March 31, 2020 and January 1, 2020, each.
(c)See table below for details about the amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss.
(d)Amounts are net of tax of NaN as of March 31, 2019 and January 1, 2019, each.
(e)Amounts are net of tax of $50 million as of March 31, 2019 and January 1, 2019, each.

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Three months ended
March 31,
Affected line item in the statement where net income is presented
20202019
Details about Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss Components(a):
Amortization of pension and other postretirement benefits:
Actuarial loss$ $ Other income
Prior service credit—  —  Other income
Total before tax  
Income tax expense—  —  Income tax benefit (expense)
Total reclassifications for the period, net of tax$ $ 

(a)
Amounts are net of tax of nil as of March 31, 2019 and January 1, 2019, each.
(b)
Amounts are net of tax of $50 million as of March 31, 2019 and January 1, 2019, each.

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(c)
See table below for details about the amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss.
(d)
Amounts are net of tax of nil as of March 31, 2018 and January 1, 2018, each.
(e)
Amounts are net of tax of $52 million as of March 31, 2018 and January 1, 2018, each.
 Three months ended
March 31,
 Affected line item in the statement where net income is presented
 2019 2018 
Details about Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss Components(a):
     
Amortization of pension and other postretirement benefits:     
Actuarial loss$4
 $3
 Other income
Prior service credit
 
 Other income
Total amortization4
 3
 Total before tax
Income tax expense
 
 Income tax expense
Total reclassifications for the period$4
 $3
 Net of tax
(a)
Pension and other postretirement benefit amounts in parentheses indicate credits on our unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations.

(a)Pension and other postretirement benefit amounts in parentheses indicate credits on our unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations.

Note 15.14. Operating Segment Information


We derive our revenues, earnings and cash flows from the manufacture and sale of TiO2, functional additives, color pigments, timber treatment and water treatment products.chemicals. We have reported our operations through our two2 segments, Titanium Dioxide and Performance Additives, and organized our business and derived our operating segments around differences in product lines.


The major product groups of each reportable operating segment are as follows:
SegmentProduct Group
Titanium Dioxidetitanium dioxide
Performance Additivesfunctional additives, color pigments, timber treatment and water treatment chemicals



24
23




Sales between segments are generally recognized at external market prices and are eliminated in consolidation. Adjusted EBITDA is presented as a measure of the financial performance of our global business units and for reporting the results of our operating segments. The revenues and adjusted EBITDA for each of the two2 reportable operating segments are as follows:
Three months ended
March 31,
20202019
Revenues:
Titanium Dioxide$402  $425  
Performance Additives130  137  
Total$532  $562  
Adjusted EBITDA(1)
Titanium Dioxide$46  $61  
Performance Additives22  15  
68  76  
Corporate and Other(11) (16) 
Total57  60  
Reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to net income:
Interest expense(13) (14) 
Interest income  
Income tax benefit (expense) (1) 
Depreciation and amortization(28) (26) 
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests  
Other adjustments:
Business acquisition and integration expenses(1) (2) 
Loss on disposition of business/assets(2) —  
Amortization of pension and postretirement actuarial losses(3) (4) 
Net plant incident costs(1) (7) 
Restructuring, impairment and plant closing and transition costs(7) (12) 
Net income (loss)$ $(2) 
 Three months ended
March 31,
 2019 2018
Revenues:   
Titanium Dioxide$425
 $456
Performance Additives137
 166
Total$562
 $622
Adjusted EBITDA(1)
   
Titanium Dioxide$61
 $143
Performance Additives15
 24
 76
 167
Corporate and other(16) (10)
Total60
 157
Reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to net (loss) income:   
Interest expense(14) (13)
Interest income3
 3
Income tax expense(1) (20)
Depreciation and amortization(26) (34)
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests1
 2
Other adjustments:   
Business acquisition and integration expenses(2) (2)
Separation expense, net
 (1)
Amortization of pension and postretirement actuarial losses(4) (3)
Net plant incident costs(7) 
Restructuring, impairment and plant closing and transition costs(12) (9)
Net (loss) income$(2) $80

(1)
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net (loss) income of Venator before interest expense, interest income, income tax benefit (expense), depreciation and amortization and net income attributable to noncontrolling interests, as well as eliminating the following adjustments: (a) business acquisition and integration expenses; (b) separation expense, net; (c) amortization of pension and postretirement actuarial losses; (d) net plant incident costs; and (e) restructuring, impairment, and plant closing and transition costs.

(1)Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income/loss of Venator before interest expense, interest income, income tax expense/benefit, depreciation and amortization and net income attributable to noncontrolling interests, as well as eliminating the following adjustments: (a) business acquisition and integration expenses/adjustments; (b) loss/gain on disposition of business/assets; (c) amortization of pension and postretirement actuarial losses/gains; (d) net plant incident costs/credits; and (e) restructuring, impairment, and plant closing and transition costs/credits.




25
24




ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS


The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations should be read in conjunction with our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and the related notes included in Item 1 hereto.


This section contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those discussed in any forward-looking statement because of various factors, including those described in the section titled "Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" and "Part II. Item 1A. Risk Factors."


Executive Summary


We are a leading global manufacturer and marketer of chemical products that improve the quality of life for downstream consumers and promote a sustainable future. Our products comprise a broad range of innovative chemicals and formulations that bring color and vibrancy to buildings, protect and extend product life, and reduce energy consumption. We market our products globally to a diversified group of industrial customers through two segments: Titanium Dioxide, which consists of our TiO2 business, and Performance Additives, which consists of our functional additives, color pigments, timber treatment and water treatment businesses. We are a leading global producer in many of our key product lines, including TiO2, color pigments and functional additives, a leading North American producer of timber treatment products and a leading European producer of water treatment products.


Recent DevelopmentsCOVID-19


AcquisitionThe COVID-19 pandemic and related economic repercussions have created significant disruption to the global economy and will likely have an adverse effect on our business and the markets in which we operate, the extent of Tronox European Paper Laminates Businesswhich cannot fully be determined at this time.


On April 26, 2019,We have a team focused on managing our business through the pandemic and we completedhave enacted rigorous safety measures across our acquisitionorganization, including stopping non-essential business travel, increasing the personal protective equipment requirements at our manufacturing sites, removing contractors from site, increasing cleaning and sanitizing measures, implementing social distancing protocols, requiring work-from-home arrangements for those employees who do not need to be physically present and reducing the amount of employees working at a site at any given time. We expect to continue these measures until we determine that COVID-19 is adequately contained for purposes of safeguarding our employees and our business. We may take further actions as government authorities require or recommend, or as we determine to be in the best interest of our employees, customers, partners and suppliers.

We have not yet experienced significant impacts or interruptions to our supply chain as a result of the European paper laminatesCOVID-19 pandemic. However, certain of our suppliers have faced difficulties maintaining operations due to government-ordered restrictions and shelter-in-place mandates. While we have thus far been able to identify alternative sourcing arrangements without disrupting our supply chain, financial hardship on our suppliers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could cause material disruptions in our raw material supply. We are proactively managing our supplier network by maintaining close contact and ensuring alternative arrangements are available in case our primary suppliers are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has not had a material impact on demand for our products for the three months ended March 31, 2020, we anticipate a decline in orders across our business (the "8120 Grade")during the second quarter of 2020 as orders begin to reflect the impact of government ordered restrictions on our customers. We cannot currently predict the duration and severity of impacts to our business from Tronox Limited (“Tronox”) for a purchase pricethe global economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of €8 million payable as follows: €1 million upon completionthis, we cannot reasonably estimate with any degree of certainty the future adverse impact the COVID-19 pandemic may have on our results of operations, financial position, or liquidity; however, the impact could be material. See further discussion of the acquisitionpotential impact to our liquidity under "Liquidity and the remaining €7 million in two installments over two years. In connection with the acquisition, Tronox will supply the 8120 Grade to us under a Transitional Supply Agreement until the transferCapital Resources." See "Part II. Item 1A. Risk Factors" for further details of the manufacturing ofrisks that the 8120 GradeCOVID-19 pandemic may present to our Greatham, U.K., facility has been completed.business.

A separate agreement with Tronox entered into on July 14, 2018 requires that Tronox promptly pay us a “break fee”
25



Recent Trends and Outlook
In 2019, we
We expect resultsnear-term business trends in our Titanium Dioxide segment to reflect:be driven by the following factors: (i) customer destocking, which began in 2018,the global economic environment impacted by geopolitical events such as the global COVID-19 pandemic (with regional variations), trade negotiations between the U.S. and China and Brexit; (ii) demand for our products will be adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economic environment; (iii) TiO2 pricing to persist throughout the first half of 2019 at a diminishing rate; (ii)reflect regional disparities in TiO2 pricing trends reflecting specific supply and demand balances; (iii)balances, increased competition in certain regions for certain of our products and our customer-tailored approach; (iv) a soft economic environment, primarilymanageable increase in China and Europe, including the effectsaverage cost of Brexit and the China-US trade negotiations; (iv)our mix of ore feedstocks requirements; (v) lower raw materialmaterials and energy cost increases; (v) volume trends to reflect historical seasonal patterns;costs excluding feedstocks; (vi) increased production of specialtyan additional benefit from our 2019 Business Improvement Program; and differentiated product grades; (vii) increased sales of new TiO2 product grades ; and (viii)a benefit from additional cost and operational improvement actions. actions, including those we have taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In our Performance Additives segment, we expect near-term business trends to be driven by:by the following factors: (i) a seasonal improvement in sales volumes compared to the first quarter of 2019 partially offset by customer destocking in certain product applications; (ii) a softglobal economic environment impacted by geopolitical events such as the global COVID-19 pandemic (with regional variations), trade negotiations between the U.S. and China and Brexit; (ii) demand for our products will be adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economic environment; (iii) a weaker demand environment for certain products, primarily in Chinathe automotive, coatings, and Europe, including the effects of Brexit and the China-US trade negotiations; (iii)construction end-use applications; (iv) manageable raw material cost increases and lower energy costs inflation;costs; (v) an additional benefit from our 2019 Business Improvement Program; and (iv)(vi) a benefit from additional cost and operational improvement actions.actions, including those we have taken in response to COVID-19.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, we commenced our 2019 Business Improvement Program and are underway with the implementation, having realized $3have delivered $24 million of savings through the first quarter of 2020, $4 million of which was achieved in the first quarter of 2019.2020. We continue to expect that when fully implemented, this cost and operational improvement program will provide approximately $40 million of annual adjusted EBITDA benefit compared to year-end 2018. We currently expect actions will be complete in 2020, endingto end the year at the full run rate level.run-rate level; however, the timing, constituent elements and expected benefit may be adjusted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on our 2019 Business Improvement Program.


26



In 2019, we expect to spend approximately $130 million on2020, total capital expenditures which includes spendingare expected to be $60 million. We do not expect any material capital expenditures relating to the transfer of our specialty technologyand differentiated business from our Pori, Finland manufacturing site to other sites in our manufacturing network.network during 2020. We intend to optimize the remaining transfer of our specialty and differentiated business from our Pori, Finland TiO2 manufacturing facility, but the timing of this transfer will be elongated, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, and may result in a lower total expected capital outlay and a lower associated adjusted EBITDA benefit than originally estimated.

We expect our corporate and other costs will be approximately $50 million in 2019.2020.


26


Results of Operations


The following table sets forth our consolidated results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 20192020 and 2018:2019:
Three Months Ended
March 31,
(Dollars in millions)20202019% Change
Revenues$532  $562  (5 %)
Cost of goods sold471  486  (3 %)
Operating expenses(4)
42  55  (24 %)
Restructuring, impairment and plant closing and transition costs 12  (42 %)
Operating income12   33 %
Interest expense, net(10) (11) %
Other income  300 %
Income (loss) before income taxes (1) NM  
Income tax benefit (expense) (1) NM  
Net income (loss) (2) NM  
Reconciliation of net income (loss) to adjusted EBITDA:
Interest expense, net10  11  (9 %)
Income tax (benefit) expense(2)  NM  
Depreciation and amortization28  26  %
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests(1) (1) — %
Other adjustments:
Business acquisition and integration expenses  
Loss on disposition of business/assets —  
Amortization of pension and postretirement actuarial losses  
Net plant incident costs  
Restructuring, impairment and plant closing and transition costs 12  
Adjusted EBITDA(1)
$57  $60  
Net cash used in operating activities$(58) $(29) 100 %
Net cash used in investing activities(27) (53) (49 %)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities56  (3) NM  
Capital expenditures(31) (52) (40 %)
 Three Months Ended  
 March 31,  
(Dollars in millions)2019 2018 % Change
Revenues$562
 $622
 (10)%
Cost of goods sold486
 454
 7 %
Operating expenses(4)
55
 51
 8 %
Restructuring, impairment and plant closing and transition costs12
 9
 33 %
Operating income9
 108
 (92)%
Interest expense, net(11) (10) (10)%
Other income1
 2
 (50)%
(Loss) income before income taxes(1) 100
 NM
Income tax expense(1) (20) (95)%
Net (loss) income(2) 80
 NM
Reconciliation of net loss (income) to adjusted EBITDA:    

Interest expense, net11
 10
 10 %
Income tax expense1
 20
 (95)%
Depreciation and amortization26
 34
 (24)%
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests(1) (2) 50 %
Other adjustments:     
Business acquisition and integration expenses2
 2
  
Separation expense, net
 1
  
Amortization of pension and postretirement actuarial losses4
 3
  
Net plant incident costs (credits)7
 
  
Restructuring, impairment and plant closing and transition costs12
 9
  
Adjusted EBITDA(1)
$60
 $157
  
      
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities(29) 51
 NM
Net cash used in investing activities(53) (67) (21)%
Net cash used in financing activities(3) (8) (63)%
Capital expenditures(52) (73) (29)%

27






Three Months EndedThree Months Ended
(Dollars in millions, except per share amounts)March 31, 2020March 31, 2019
Reconciliation of net income to adjusted net income attributable to Venator Materials PLC ordinary shareholders:
Net income (loss)$ $(2) 
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests(1) (1) 
Other adjustments:
Business acquisition and integration expenses  
Loss on disposition of business/assets —  
Amortization of pension and postretirement actuarial losses  
Net plant incident costs  
Restructuring, impairment and plant closing and transition costs 12  
Income tax adjustments(3)
(9) (8) 
Adjusted net income attributable to Venator Materials PLC ordinary shareholders(2)
$12  $14  
Weighted-average shares-basic106.7  106.5  
Weighted-average shares-diluted106.7  106.8  
Net income (loss) attributable to Venator Materials PLC ordinary shareholders per share:
Basic$0.07  $(0.03) 
Diluted$0.07  $(0.03) 
Other non-GAAP measures:
Adjusted net income per share(2):
Basic$0.11  $0.13  
Diluted$0.11  $0.13  
 Three Months Ended Three Months Ended
 March 31, 2019 March 31, 2018
(Dollars in millions, except per share amounts)Gross 
Tax(3)
 Net Gross 
Tax(3)
 Net
Reconciliation of net (loss) income to adjusted net income attributable to Venator Materials PLC ordinary shareholders:           
Net (loss) income    $(2)     $80
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests    (1)     (2)
Other adjustments:           
Business acquisition and integration expenses2
 (1) 1
 2
 (1) 1
Separation expense, net
 
 
 1
 
 1
Amortization of pension and postretirement actuarial losses4
 (1) 3
 3
 
 3
Net plant incident costs7
 (2) 5
 
 
 
Restructuring, impairment and plant closing and transition costs12
 (4) 8
 9
 (1) 8
Adjusted net income attributable to Venator Materials PLC ordinary shareholders(2)
    $14
     $91
            
Weighted-average shares-basic    106.5
     106.4
Weighted-average shares-diluted    106.8
     106.8
            
Net (loss) income attributable to Venator Materials PLC ordinary shareholders per share:           
Basic    $(0.03)     $0.73
Diluted    $(0.03)     $0.73
            
Other non-GAAP measures:           
Adjusted net income per share(2):
           
Basic    $0.13
     $0.86
Diluted    $0.13
     $0.85


NM—Not meaningful
(1)
Our management uses adjusted EBITDA to assess financial performance. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net (loss) income before interest expense, net, income tax (benefit) expense, depreciation and amortization, and net income attributable to noncontrolling interests, as well as eliminating the following adjustments: (a) business acquisition and integration expenses; (b) separation expense, net; (c) amortization of pension and postretirement actuarial losses; (d) net plant incident costs; and (e) restructuring, impairment and plant closing and transition costs. We believe that net income is the performance measure calculated and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("U.S. GAAP" or "GAAP") that is most directly comparable to adjusted EBITDA.

(1)Our management uses adjusted EBITDA to assess financial performance. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income/loss before interest income/expense, net, income tax expense/benefit, depreciation and amortization, and net income attributable to noncontrolling interests, as well as eliminating the following adjustments: (a) business acquisition and integration expenses/adjustments; (b) loss/gain on disposition of business/assets; (c) amortization of pension and postretirement actuarial losses/gains; (d) net plant incident costs/credits; and (e) restructuring, impairment, and plant closing and transition costs/credits. We believe that net income is the performance measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP that is most directly comparable to adjusted EBITDA.

We believe adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors in assessing our ongoing financial performance and provides improved comparability between periods through the exclusion of certain items that management believes are not indicative of our operational profitability and that may obscure underlying business results and trends. However, this measure should not be considered in isolation or viewed as a substitute for net income or other measures of performance determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Moreover, adjusted EBITDA as used herein is not necessarily comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies due to potential inconsistencies in the methods of calculation. Our management believes this measure is useful to compare general operating performance from period to period and to make certain related management decisions. Adjusted EBITDA is also used by securities analysts, lenders and others in their evaluation of different companies because it excludes certain items

28



that can vary widely across different industries or among companies within the same industry. For example, interest expense can be highly dependent on a company’s capital structure, debt levels and credit ratings. Therefore, the impact of interest expense on earnings can vary significantly among companies. In addition, the tax positions of
28


companies can vary because of their differing abilities to take advantage of tax benefits and because of the tax policies of the various jurisdictions in which they operate. As a result, effective tax rates and tax expense can vary considerably among companies. Finally, companies employ productive assets of different ages and utilize different methods of acquiring and depreciating such assets. This can result in considerable variability in the relative costs of productive assets and the depreciation and amortization expense among companies.


Nevertheless, our management recognizes that there are limitations associated with the use of adjusted EBITDA in the evaluation of us as compared to net income. Our management compensates for the limitations of using adjusted EBITDA by using this measure to supplement U.S. GAAP results to provide a more complete understanding of the factors and trends affecting the business rather than U.S. GAAP results alone.


In addition to the limitations noted above, adjusted EBITDA excludes items that may be recurring in nature and should not be disregarded in the evaluation of performance. However, we believe it is useful to exclude such items to provide a supplemental analysis of current results and trends compared to other periods because certain excluded items can vary significantly depending on specific underlying transactions or events, and the variability of such items may not relate specifically to ongoing operating results or trends and certain excluded items, while potentially recurring in future periods, may not be indicative of future results.


(2)
Adjusted net income attributable to Venator Material PLC ordinary shareholders is computed by eliminating the after-tax amounts related to the following from net income attributable to Venator Materials PLC ordinary shareholders: (a) business acquisition and integration expenses; (b) separation expense, net; (c) amortization of pension and postretirement actuarial losses; (d) net plant incident costs; (e) restructuring, impairment and plant closing and transition costs. Basic adjusted net income per share excludes dilution and is computed by dividing adjusted net income by the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period. Adjusted diluted net income per share reflects all potential dilutive ordinary shares outstanding during the period increased by the number of additional shares that would have been outstanding as dilutive securities.

(2)Adjusted net income attributable to Venator Materials PLC ordinary shareholders is computed by eliminating the after-tax amounts related to the following from net income attributable to Venator Materials PLC ordinary shareholders: (a) business acquisition and integration expenses/adjustments; (b) loss/gain on disposition of business/assets; (c) amortization of pension and postretirement actuarial losses/gains; (d) net plant incident costs/credits; and (e) restructuring, impairment, and plant closing and transition costs/credits. Basic adjusted net income per share excludes dilution and is computed by dividing adjusted net income by the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period. Adjusted diluted net income per share reflects all potential dilutive ordinary shares outstanding during the period increased by the number of additional shares that would have been outstanding as dilutive securities.

Adjusted net income (loss) and adjusted net income (loss) per share amounts are presented solely as supplemental information. These measures exclude similar non-cashnoncash items as Adjusted EBITDA in order to assist our investors in comparing our performance from period to period and as such, bear similar risks as Adjusted EBITDA as documented in footnote (1) above. For that reason, adjusted net income and the related per share amounts, should not be considered in isolation and should be considered only to supplement analysis of U.S. GAAP results.


(3)Prior to the second quarter of 2019, the income tax impacts, if any, of each adjusting item represented a ratable allocation of the total difference between the unadjusted tax expense and the total adjusted tax expense, computed without consideration of any adjusting items using a with and without approach.

Beginning in the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2019, income tax expense is adjusted by the amount of additional tax expense or benefit that we would accrue if we used non-GAAP results instead of GAAP results in the calculation of our tax liability, taking into consideration our tax structure. We use a normalized effective tax rate of 35%, which reflects the weighted average tax rate applicable under the various jurisdictions in which we operate. This non-GAAP tax rate eliminates the effects of non-recurring and period specific items which are often attributable to restructuring and acquisition decisions and can vary in size and frequency. This rate is subject to change over time for various reasons, including changes in the geographic business mix, valuation allowances, and changes in statutory tax rates.

We eliminate the effect of significant changes to income tax valuation allowances from our presentation of adjusted net income to allow investors to better compare our ongoing financial performance from period to period. We do not adjust for insignificant changes in tax valuation allowances because we do not believe it provides more meaningful information than is provided under GAAP. We believe that our revised approach enables a clearer understanding of the long-term impact of our tax structure on post tax earnings.

(4)As presented within Item 2, operating expenses includes selling, general and administrative expenses and other operating expense (income), net.
(3)
The income tax impacts, if any, of each adjusting item represent a ratable allocation of the total difference between the unadjusted tax expense and the total adjusted tax expense, computed without consideration of any adjusting items using a with and without approach. We eliminated the effect of significant changes to income tax valuation allowances from our presentation of adjusted net income to allow investors to better compare our ongoing financial performance from period to period. We do not adjust for insignificant changes in tax valuation allowances because we do not believe it provides more meaningful information than is provided under GAAP.

(4)
As presented within Item 2, operating expenses includes selling, general and administrative expenses and other operating expense (income), net.

29





Three Months Ended March 31, 20192020 Compared to the Three Months Ended March 31, 20182019


For the three months ended March 31, 2019,2020, net income was $8 million on revenues of $532 million, compared with net loss wasof $2 million on revenues of $562 million compared with net income of $80 million on revenues of $622 million for the same period in 2018.2019. The decrease of $82 millionincrease in net income of $10 million was the result of the following items:


Revenues for the three months ended March 31, 20192020 decreased by $60$30 million, or 10%5%, as compared with the same period in 2018.2019. The decrease was due to a $31$23 million decrease in revenue in our Titanium Dioxide
segment and a $29$7 million decrease in revenue in our Performance Additives segment. See "—Segment Analysis" below.


Our operating expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2019 increased2020 decreased by $4$13 million, or 8%24%, as compared with the same period in 2018,2019, primarily related to a $5$7 million unfavorable impactreduction of foreign currency year over yearpersonnel related expenses due to costs savings initiatives, partially in response to COVID-19, and a $3 million unfavorable change in other income and expense offset by a $4 million decrease in SG&A costs from 2018 to 2019. The decline in other income and expense was driven by salesthe effects of carbon credits in the first quarter of 2018 for which there were no comparable sales in the same period of 2019.foreign exchange rates.


Restructuring, impairment and plant closing and transition costs for the three months ended March 31, 2019 increased2020 decreased to $12$7 million from $9$12 million for the same period in 2018 primarily as a result of the planned closure of our plant in Pori, Finland beginning in the third quarter of 2018.2019. For more information concerning restructuring and plant closing activities, see "Note 7."Note 6. Restructuring, Impairment, and Plant Closing and Transition Costs"Costs" of the notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
statements.


Our income tax expensebenefit for the three months ended March 31, 20192020 was $1$2 million compared to $20income tax expense of $1 million for the same period in 2018.2019. Our income taxes are significantly affected by the mix of income and losses in the tax jurisdictions in which we operate, as impacted by the presence of valuation allowances in certain tax jurisdictions. For further information concerning taxes, see "Note 10."Note 9. Income Taxes"Taxes" of the notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
statements.


Segment Analysis
Three Months EndedPercent Change Favorable (Unfavorable)
March 31,
(Dollars in millions)20202019
Revenues
Titanium Dioxide$402  $425  (5 %)
Performance Additives130  137  (5 %)
Total$532  $562  (5 %)
Adjusted EBITDA
Titanium Dioxide$46  $61  (25 %)
Performance Additives22  15  47 %
68  76  (11 %)
Corporate and Other(11) (16) 31 %
Total$57  $60  (5 %)

30


 Three Months Ended Percent Change Favorable (Unfavorable)
 March 31, 
(Dollars in millions)2019 2018 
Revenues     
Titanium Dioxide$425
 $456
 (7)%
Performance Additives137
 166
 (17)%
Total$562
 $622
 (10)%
Adjusted EBITDA     
Titanium Dioxide$61
 $143
 (57)%
Performance Additives15
 24
 (38)%
 76
 167
 (54)%
Corporate and other(16) (10) (60)%
Total$60
 $157
 (62)%


Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 vs. 2019
Average Selling Price(1)
Local CurrencyForeign Currency Translation ImpactMix & Other
Sales Volumes(2)
Period-Over-Period Increase (Decrease)
Titanium Dioxide(1 %)(2 %)(1 %)(1 %)
Performance Additives%(1 %)(1 %)(4 %)
 Three Months Ended March 31, 2019 vs. 2018
 
Average Selling Price(1)
    
 Local Currency Foreign Currency Translation Impact Mix & Other 
Sales Volumes(2)
Period-Over-Period Increase (Decrease)       
Titanium Dioxide(6)% (4)% % 3 %
Performance Additives(2)% (2)% 1% (14)%

(1)
Excludes revenues from tolling arrangements, by-products and raw materials.
(2)
Excludes sales volumes of by-products and raw materials.

(1)Excludes revenues from tolling arrangements, by-products and raw materials.

(2)Excludes sales volumes of by-products and raw materials.
30




Titanium Dioxide


The Titanium Dioxide segment generated revenues of $425$402 million in the three months ended March 31, 2019,2020, a decrease of $31$23 million, or 7%5%, compared to the same period in 2018.2019. The decrease was primarily due to a 6%1% decline in the average TiO2selling prices andprice, a 4%2% unfavorable impact from foreign currency translation, partially offset by a 3% increase1% decrease in sales volumes.volumes, and a 1% unfavorable impact due to mix and other. The decreasedecline in the average TiO2selling pricesprice was primarily attributable to a convergence of higher European selling prices towards North American priceslower global average functional TiO2 price. Sales volumes declined compared to the prior year period primarily in certain specialty applications and softer business conditions in Asia Pacific,were partially offset by continued strength in pricinghigher demand for our specialty TiO2new products globally. Sales volumes of functional TiO2 products increased in Europe primarily due to the impact of accelerated purchases related to Brexit and modest growth. Volumes of functional TiO2 products increased modestly in North America and decreased in Asia Pacific. Specialty TiO2 volumes increased 11% globally, due to higher production for certain products.plastics applications.


Adjusted EBITDA for the Titanium Dioxide segment was $61 million, a decrease of $82$46 million for the three months ended March 31, 20192020, a decrease of $15 million compared to the same period in 2018, or a decrease of $64 million after excluding $18 million of lost earnings attributable to our Pori, Finland TiO2 manufacturing facility, which were reimbursed through insurance proceeds in 2018.2019. The decreasedecline was primarily a result of a lower average TiO2 selling prices,price, higher ore costs, and a decline in overall TiO2 volumes. This was partially offset by lower selling, general and administrative costs, a decline in other raw materialmaterials and energy costs the aforementioned lost earnings attributable to our Pori, Finland manufacturing facility and $7 million from the sale of carbon credits in the prior year period and partially offset by higher sales volumes and a $2$3 million benefit from our 2019 Business Improvement Program.


Performance Additives


The Performance Additives segment generated $137$130 million of revenuerevenues in the three months ended March 31, 2019,2020, a decline of $29$7 million, or 17%5%, compared to the same period in 2018. This resulted from2019. The decline was primarily due to a 14%4% decrease in sales volumes, a 2% decrease in average selling prices and a 2% decrease due to the1% unfavorable impact of foreign currency translation and a 1% unfavorable impact of mix and other, partially offset by a 1% increase from mix and other.in the average selling price. The decline in sales volumes was primarily as a result of lower demand for certain coatings and construction-related products, principallyand portfolio optimization in construction-related applications driven by adverse weather conditions in North America, the impact of plant shutdowns as part of prior restructuring actions and customer destocking. Average selling prices declined due to the composition of sales within our color pigments and functional additives businesses.timber treatment.


Adjusted EBITDA in the Performance Additives segment was $15$22 million, a decreasean increase of $9$7 million for the three months ended March 31, 20192020 compared to the same period in 2018,2019. The increase was primarily due to lower average selling prices and lowerfavorable mix of sales volumes, partially offset by lower raw material and energy costs,within the businesses, lower selling, general and administrative costs, lower raw material, energy and other costs, and a $1 million benefit from our 2019 Business Improvement Program.Program, partially offset by a decline in sales volumes.


Corporate and Other


Corporate and other represents expenses which are not allocated to our segments. Losses from Corporate and otherOther were $16$11 million, or $6$5 million higherlower in the three months ended March 31, 2019 than2020 compared to the same period in 2018,2019. This was primarily as a result of the unfavorable impact offavorable foreign currency translation arising from weaknessand lower costs in the Euro versus the U.S. dollar.various corporate functions.


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Liquidity and Capital Resources


We had cash and cash equivalents of$80 $25 millionand $165$55 million as of March 31, 20192020 and December 31, 2018,2019, respectively. We expecthave an ABL Facility with an available aggregate principal amount of up to have adequate liquidity to meet our obligations over the next 12 months. Additionally, we believe our future obligations, including needs for capital expenditures, will be met by available cash generated from operations and borrowings.

On August 8, 2017, in connection with our IPO and the separation, we entered into new financing arrangements and incurred new debt, including $375 million of Senior Notes issued by our subsidiaries Venator Finance S.à.r.l. and Venator Materials LLC, as Issuers, and borrowings of $375 million under the Term Loan Facility. A payable to Huntsman for a liability pursuant to the Tax Matters Agreement has been presented as "Noncurrent payable to affiliates" on our unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets.


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In addition to the Senior Notes and the Term Loan Facility, we entered into the ABL Facility. $350 million. Availability to borrow under the ABL Facility is subject to a borrowing base calculation comprising both accounts receivable and inventory in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Germany and only accounts receivable in France and Spain. Thus, the base calculation may fluctuate from time to timefluctuates and may be further impacted by the lenders’ discretionary ability to impose reserves and availability blocks that might otherwise incrementally increase borrowing availability. The borrowing base calculation as of March 31, 20192020 is in excess of approximately $273 million,of which $264 $191 millionis available to be drawn.


As we cannot predict the duration or scope of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our customers and suppliers, the potential adverse financial impact to our results cannot be reasonably estimated, but could be material. We are actively managing the business to improve cash flow and ensure adequate liquidity, which we believe will help us emerge from this environment a stronger and more resilient company. Such measures, which are incremental to ongoing improvement programs, include implementing additional actions to reduce costs, managing our production network to align with customer demand, managing our inventories and reducing planned capital expenditures. In addition, various governments in the countries and localities in which we operate have established economic relief and stimulus programs to support their economies during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are participating in certain smaller value programs and we continue to assess the potential for the impact that other programs may have on our liquidity as they become available. We believe that these steps to improve cash flow and liquidity will allow us to meet our anticipated funding requirements for the next twelve months. We may also seek to take advantage of opportunities to raise capital through additional debt financing, and may, from time to time, discuss such opportunities with potential credit investors.

Items Impacting Short-Term and Long-Term Liquidity

Our liquidity can be significantly impacted by various factors.factors in addition to those described below. The following matters had, or are expected to have, a significant impact on our liquidity:


Cash invested in our accounts receivable and inventory, net of accounts payable, as reflected in our unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows increased by $7$25 million for the three months ended March 31, 20192020 as compared to the same period in the prior year. We expect volatility in our working capital components to continue duebe a source of liquidity through 2020 as we take measures to seasonal changesrespond to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which are incremental to efforts already in working capital throughout the year.
place, including managing our production network and inventory levels to align with customer demand.


We expect to spend approximately $130$60 million on capital expenditures during 2019. 2020, which reflects a decrease from the expected 2020 capital expenditures of $80 million to $90 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2019, primarily as a result of actions we expect to take to preserve liquidity in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our future capital expenditures include certain EHS maintenance and upgrades, planned periodic maintenance and repairs applicable to major units of manufacturing facilities; expansions of our existing facilities or construction of new facilities; certain cost reduction projects; and the cost to transfer specialty and differentiated manufacturing from Pori, Finland to other sites within our manufacturing network. This excludes other Pori site capital expenditures. We expect to fund this spending with cash on hand as well as cash provided by operations and borrowings.


During the three months ended March 31, 2019,2020, we made contributions to our pension and postretirement benefit plans of $6$11 million. During the remainder of 2019,2020, we expect to contribute an additional amount of approximately $30$24 million to these plans.


We are involved in a number of cost reduction programs for which we have established restructuring accruals. As of March 31, 2019,2020, we had $28$13 million of accrued restructuring costs of which $17$7 million is classified as current. We expect to incur additional restructuring and plant closing costs of approximately $17 million, including $10$1 million for non-cashnoncash charges, and pay approximately $22$21 million through the remainder of 2019. 2020.
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For further discussion of these plans and the costs involved, see "Note 7."Note 6. Restructuring, Impairment, and Plant Closing and Transition Costs"Costs" of the notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
statements.


In the fourth quarter of 2018, we commenced our 2019 Business Improvement Program and have delivered $24 million of savings through the first quarter of 2019 we announced additional2020, $4 million of which was achieved in the first quarter of 2020. We continue to expect that when fully implemented, this cost reduction initiatives which are expected toand operational improvement program will provide approximately $40 million of annual adjusted EBITDA benefit compared to year-end 2018. We currently expect actions will be complete in 2020, endingto end the year at the full run rate level.run-rate level; however, the timing, constituent elements and expected benefit may be adjusted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on our 2019 Business Improvement Program.

On January 30, 2017, our TiO2 manufacturing facility in Pori, Finland, experienced fire damage. We are in the process of closing our Pori, Finland, TiO2 manufacturing facility and transferring the production of specialty and differentiated product grades to other sites within our existing network. In the first quarter of 2019, we had capital expenditures of $24 million related to project wind-down and closure costs. We intend to operate the Pori facility at reduced production rates through the transition period, which is expected to last through at least 2022, subject to economic and other factors.


On January 30, 2017, our TiO2 manufacturing facility in Pori, Finland, experienced fire damage. We are in the process of closing our Pori, Finland, TiO2 manufacturing facility and transferring our specialty and differentiated business to other sites in our manufacturing network. We intend to operate the Pori facility at reduced production rates through the transition period, subject to economic and other factors. We do not expect any material capital expenditures relating to the transfer during 2020. We intend to optimize the remaining transfer of our specialty and differentiated business from our Pori, Finland manufacturing site to other sites in our manufacturing network, but the timing of this transfer will be elongated, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, and may result in a lower total expected capital outlay and a lower associated adjusted EBITDA benefit than originally estimated.

In the first quarter of 2020, we initiated consultations with employee representatives on a proposal to restructure our manufacturing facility at our German operations. Until the consultation process is concluded, the restructuring is not considered probable, and the total potential costs associated with this contemplated proposal, which are expected to be significant, cannot be determined. If the consultation process is successfully concluded, the Company would expect, at that time, to record charges related to the program including employee severance costs, accelerated depreciation and other costs associated with restructuring our manufacturing facility. The amount and timing of the recognition of these charges and the related cash expenditures will depend on a number of factors, including the timing of the completion of the consultation process and the negotiated elements of the associated plan. We expect the cash benefit of this potential restructuring to more than offset cash expenditures to be incurred for its implementation.

We have $733$732 million in aggregate principalprinciple outstanding under $370consisting of $371 million of 5.75% of Senior Notes due 2025, and a $363$361 million Term Loan Facility. We also had $60 million outstanding on our ABL Facility. Through March 31, 2020, we are in compliance with all applicable financial covenants included in the terms of our Senior Notes and Senior Credit Facility. In July 2017, the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, announced that it intends to phase out LIBOR by the end of 2021. We are currently evaluating the potential effect of the eventual replacement of LIBOR on our financial statements. Accounting guidance has been recently issued to ease the transition to alternative reference rates from a financial reporting perspective. See "Note 2. Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements" of the notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. See further discussion under "Financing Arrangements."


As of March 31, 20192020 and December 31, 20182019, we had $7$70 million and $8$13 million, respectively, classified as current portion of debt.


As of March 31, 20192020 and December 31, 20182019, we had $18$14 million and $36$16 million, respectively, of cash and cash equivalents held outside of the U.S. and Europe, including our variable interest entities. As of March 31, 20192020, our

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non-U.K. subsidiaries have no plan to distribute funds in a manner that would cause them to be subject to U.K., or other local country taxation. DuringIn the three months ended March 31,first quarter of 2019, a non-U.K. subsidiary distributed $12 million to a U.K. subsidiary subject to a 5% withholding tax.


Cash Flows for the Three Months Ended March 31, 20192020 Compared to the Three Months Ended March 31, 20182019


Net cash used in operating activities was $58 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020, compared to $29 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019 while2019. The unfavorable variance in net cash provided byused in operating activities was $51 million
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for the three months ended March 31, 2018. The unfavorable variance in net cash from operating activities for the three months ended March 31, 20192020 compared with the same period in 20182019 was primarily attributable to an $82a $33 million decreaseunfavorable variance in operating assets and liabilities for 2020 as compared with the same period in 2019, partially offset by a $10 million increase in net income as described in "—Results of Operations" above, a $19 million reduction in insurance proceeds for business interruption, offset by a $28 million favorable variance in operating assets and liabilities for 2019 as compared with 2018.above.


Net cash used in investing activities was $27 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020, compared to $53 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019, compared to $67 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018.2019. The decrease in net cash used in investing activities was primarily attributable to a decrease in capital expenditures of $21 million comparedprimarily as a result of higher capital expenditures related to our TiO2 manufacturing facility in Pori, Finland in the prior year period, offset by a $7 million unfavorable variance in cash received from and cash invested in unconsolidated affiliates.period.


Net cash used inprovided by financing activities was $3$56 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019,2020, compared to $8$3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018. The decrease in net cash used in financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 20192019. The increase in net cash provided by financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2020 compared with the same period in 20182019 was primarily attributable to a decrease$63 million of proceeds from issuance of short-term debt, partially offset by $5 million increase in repaymentsnet payments on long-term debt.notes payable.


Changes in Financial Condition


The following information summarizes our working capital as of March 31, 20192020 and December 31, 20182019:

(Dollars in millions)March 31, 2019 December 31, 2018 Increase (Decrease) Percent Change(Dollars in millions)March 31, 2020December 31, 2019Increase (Decrease)Percent Change
Cash and cash equivalents$80
 $165
 $(85) (52)%Cash and cash equivalents$25  $55  $(30) (55 %)
Accounts receivable, net400
 351
 49
 14 %Accounts receivable, net367  321  46  14 %
Accounts receivable from affiliates10
 
 10
 NM
Accounts receivable from affiliates10  —  10  NM  
Inventories503
 538
 (35) (7)%Inventories492  513  (21) (4 %)
Prepaid expenses17
 20
 (3) (15)%Prepaid expenses16  21  (5) (24 %)
Other current assets53
 51
 2
 4 %Other current assets58  67  (9) (13 %)
Total current assets$1,063
 $1,125
 $(62) (6)%Total current assets$968  $977  $(9) (1 %)
Accounts payable331
 382
 (51) (13)%Accounts payable284  334  (50) (15 %)
Accounts payable to affiliates15
 18
 (3) (17)%Accounts payable to affiliates17  17  —  — %
Accrued liabilities124
 135
 (11) (8)%Accrued liabilities104  116  (12) (10 %)
Current operating lease liability10
 
 10
 NM
Current operating lease liability  —  —  
Current portion of debt7
 8
 (1) (13)%Current portion of debt70  13  57  438 %
Total current liabilities$487
 $543
 $(56) (10)%Total current liabilities$483  $488  $(5) (1 %)
Working capital$576
 $582
 $(6) (1)%Working capital$485  $489  $(4) (1 %)


Our working capital decreased by $6$4 million as a result of the net impact of the following significant changes:


Cash and cash equivalents decreased by $85$30 million primarily due to outflows of $29$58 million from operating activities, $53and $27 million from investing activities, and $3partially offset by inflows of $56 million fromprovided by financing activities.activities as described in the statement of cash flows analysis above.
Accounts receivable increased by $49$46 million primarily due to seasonally higher revenues in the first quarter of 20192020 compared to the fourth quarter of 2018.2019. Collections on accounts receivable during the first quarter of 2020 have not been impacted by COVID-19 although we cannot currently predict the impact that the pandemic will have in future periods.
Inventory decreased $35$21 million reflecting lower levels of raw materialfinished goods at March 31, 20192020 as compared to the prior year end.end as a result of seasonality and efforts across the organization to manage inventory levels.

Accounts payable decreased by $50 million primarily as a result of an $18 million reduction in capital accruals and the impact of timing of cash payments versus the receipt of raw materials.
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Accrued liabilities decreased by $11$12 million primarily due to a reduction in accrued interest and accrued payroll which is a reflection of the timing of interest and bonus payments during the payments versus the amounts accrued at March 31, 2019 as compared to December 31, 2018.year.
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Current operating lease liabilityportion of debt increased by $10$57 million as a result of the adoption of ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) inprimarily due to borrowings on our ABL facility during the first quarter of 2019. See "Note 2. Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements" for further discussion of the implementation of this accounting standard.
2020.


Financing Arrangements


For a discussion of financing arrangements see "Note 8. Debt""Note 7. Debt" of the notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.


Restructuring, Impairment and Plant Closing and Transition Costs


For a discussion of our restructuring plans and the costs involved, see "Note 7."Note 6. Restructuring, Impairment, and Plant Closing and Transition Costs"Costs" of the notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.


Legal Proceedings


For a discussion of legal proceedings, see "Note 12."Note 11. Commitments and ContingenciesContingencies—Legal Matters" of the notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.


Environmental, Health and Safety Matters


As noted in the 20182019 Form 10-K, specifically within "Part I. Item 1. Business—Environmental, Health and Safety Matters" and "Part I. Item 1A. Risk Factors," we are subject to extensive environmental regulations, which may impose significant additional costs on our operations in the future. While we do not expect any of these enactments or proposals to have a material adverse effect on us in the near term, we cannot predict the longer-term effect of any of these regulations or proposals on our future financial condition. For a discussion of EHS matters, see "Note 13."Note 12. Environmental, Health and Safety Matters"Matters" of the notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.


Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements


For a discussion of recently issued accounting pronouncements, see "Note"Note 2. Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements"Pronouncements" of the notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.


Critical Accounting Policies


The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. There have been no changes to our critical accounting policies or estimates. See the Company’s critical accounting policies in "Part 2. Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies" in the 20182019 Form 10-K.


ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK


We are exposed to market risks, such as changes in interest rates, foreign exchange rates, and commodity prices. We manage these risks through normal operating and financing activities and, when appropriate, through the use of derivative instruments. We do not invest in derivative instruments for speculative purposes.


Interest Rate Risk


We are exposed to interest rate risk through the structure of our debt portfolio which includes a mix of fixed and floating rates. Actions taken to reduce interest rate risk include managing the mix and rate characteristics of various interest-bearing liabilities.

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The carrying value of our floating rate debt is $363$361 million at March 31, 2019.2020. A hypothetical 1% increase in interest rates on our floating rate debt as of March 31, 20192020, would increase our interest expense by approximately $4 million on an annualized basis.

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Foreign Exchange Rate Risk


We are exposed to market risks associated with foreign exchange.exchange, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our cash flows and earnings are subject to fluctuations due to exchange rate variation. Our revenues and expenses are denominated in various foreign currencies. We enter into foreign currency derivative instruments to minimize the short-term impact of movements in foreign currency rates. Where practicable, we generally net multicurrency cash balances among our subsidiaries to help reduce exposure to foreign currency exchange rates. Certain other exposures may be managed from time to time through financial market transactions, principally through the purchase of spot or forward foreign exchange contracts (generally with maturities of three months or less). We do not hedge our foreign currency exposures in a manner that would eliminate the effect of changes in exchange rates on our cash flows and earnings. At March 31, 20192020 and December 31, 2018,2019, we had $102$64 million and $89$75 million, respectively, notional amount (in U.S. dollarDollar equivalents) outstanding in foreign currency contracts with a term of approximately one month.


In December 2017,August 2019 we entered into three new fixed to fixed cross-currency swap agreements to convert a portion of our intercompany fixed-rate, U.S. dollar denominated notes, including the semi-annual interest payments and the payment of remaining principleswaps which notionally exchanged $200 million at maturity, to a fixed-rate, Euro denominated debt. The economic effect of the swap agreement was to eliminate the uncertainty of the cash flows in U.S. Dollars associated with the notes by fixing the principle amount at €169 million with a fixed annual rate of 3.43%. These hedges5.75% for €181 million on which a weighted average rate of 3.73% is payable. The cross-currency swaps have been designated as cash flow hedges of a fixed rate U.S. Dollar intercompany loan and the critical terms ofeconomic effect is to eliminate uncertainty on the U.S. Dollar cash flows. The cross-currency swap agreements correspondswaps are set to the underlying hedged item. These swaps mature in July 2022,2024, which is ourthe best estimate of the repayment date of these intercompany loans. The amount and timing of the semi-annual principle payments under the cross-currency swap also correspond with the terms ofon the intercompany loans. Gains and losses from these hedges offset the changes in the value of interest and principal payments as a result of changes in foreign exchange rates.loan.


During 2019,2020, the changes in accumulated other comprehensive loss associated with these cash flow hedging activities was a gain of $4$11 million.


Commodity Price Risk


A portion of our products and raw materials are commodities whose prices fluctuate as market supply and demand fundamentals change. Accordingly, product margins and the level of our profitability tend to fluctuate with the changes in the business cycle. We try to protect against such instability through various business strategies. These include provisions in sales contracts allowing us to pass on higher raw material costs through timely price increases and formula price contracts to transfer or share commodity price risk. We did not have any commodity derivative instruments in place as of March 31, 20192020 and December 31, 2018.2019.


ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES


Disclosure Controls and Procedures


As required by Rule 13-a 15(b) under the Exchange Act, we have evaluated, under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report. Based on this evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that, as of March 31, 2019,2020, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective, in that they ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is (1) recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Security and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms, and (2) accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

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Internal Control over Financial Reporting


There were no changes to our internal control over financial reporting during the three months ended March 31, 20192020 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act). However, we can only give reasonable assurance that our internal control over financial reporting will prevent or detect material misstatements on a timely basis. Ineffective internal control over financial reporting could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information and could result in a lower trading price for our securities. We have determined that no material changes to our internal controls over financial reporting are required in response to the measures we have taken related to


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the COVID-19 pandemic, including remote working arrangements for many of our employees. We are continually monitoring and assessing the impact of COVID-19 on our internal controls in an effort to ensure that our internal controls respond to any changes in our operating environment.



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PART II - OTHER INFORMATION

ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS


Except as set forth below, there have been no material developments with respect to the legal proceedings referenced in Part I, Item 3 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.

Shareholder Litigation


On February 8, 2019 we, certain of our executive officers, Huntsman and certain banks who acted as underwriters in connection with our IPO and secondary offering were named as defendants in a proposed class action civil suit filed in the District Court for the State of Texas, Dallas County (the "Dallas District Court"), by an alleged purchaser of our ordinary shares in connection with our IPO on August 3, 2017 and our secondary offering on December 1,November 30, 2017. The plaintiff, Macomb County Employees’ Retirement System, alleges that inaccurate and misleading statements were made regarding the impact to our operations, and prospects for restoration thereof, resulting from the fire that occurred at our Pori, Finland manufacturing facility, among other allegations. Additional complaints making substantially the same allegations were filed in the Dallas District Court by the Firemen's Retirement System of St. Louis on March 4, 2019 and by Oscar Gonzalez on March 13, 2019, with the third case naming two of our directors as additional defendants. The first two ofcases filed in the three cases have beenDallas District Court were consolidated into a single action, In re Venator Materials PLC Securities Litigation.

On May 8, 2019, we filed a "special appearance" in the Dallas District Court action contesting the court’s jurisdiction over the Company and a motion to transfer venue to Montgomery County, Texas and on June 7, 2019 we expectand certain defendants filed motions to dismiss. On July 9, 2019, a hearing was held on certain of these motions, which were subsequently denied. On January 21, 2020, the thirdCourt of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas reversed the Dallas District Court’s order that denied the special appearances of Venator and certain other defendants, and rendered judgment dismissing the claims against Venator and certain other defendants for lack of jurisdiction. The Court of Appeals also remanded the case for the Dallas District Court to beenter an order transferring the claims against Huntsman to the Montgomery County District Court. On March 19, 2020, plaintiffs from the Dallas District Court case filed suit in New York State Court (New York County) against Venator and the other defendants dismissed from the Dallas District Court case, making substantially the same allegations as were filed in the Dallas District Court.

An additional case was filed on July 31, 2019, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by the City of Miami General Employees' & Sanitation Employees' Retirement Trust, making substantially the same allegations, adding claims under sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the U.S. Exchange Act, and naming all of our directors as additional defendants. A case also was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas by the Cambria County Employees Retirement System on September 13, 2019, making substantially the same allegations as those made by the plaintiff in the case pending in the Southern District of New York. On October 29, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered an order transferring the case brought by the city of Miami General Employees' & Sanitation Employees' Retirement Trust to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, where it was consolidated into a single action with themthe case brought by the Cambria County Employees' Retirement Trust and is now known as well. In re: Venator Materials PLC Securities Litigation. On January 17, 2020, plaintiffs in the consolidated federal action filed a consolidated class action complaint. On February 18, 2020, all defendants joined in a motion to dismiss the consolidated complaint, which plaintiffs have opposed, and for which oral argument has been scheduled for May 14, 2020.

The plaintiffs in these cases seek to determine that the proceedingproceedings should be certified as a class actionactions and to obtain alleged compensatory damages, costs, rescission and equitable relief. We may be required to indemnify our executive officers and directors, Huntsman, and the banks who acted as underwriters in our IPO and secondary offerings, for losses incurred by them in connection with these matters pursuant to our agreements with such parties. Because of the early stage of this litigation, we are unable to reasonably estimate any possible loss or range of loss and we have not accrued for a loss contingency with regard to this matter.these matters.



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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS


As of the date of this filing, the Company and its operations continue to be subject to the risk factors previously disclosed in "Part I. Item 1A. Risk Factors" of our 20182019 Form 10-K. In addition to these risk factors, the following risk factor is applicable to us:



Anticipated declines in worldwide economic conditions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to cause demand for our products to decrease and to adversely affect our business.

We expect that the COVID-19 pandemic will cause a global economic slowdown and possibly a global recession. In the event of a recession or other downturn in the worldwide economy, demand for our products would decline and our business would be adversely affected.Our products are used in housing, construction and "quality of life" end-use applications for which demand historically has been linked to global, regional and local gross domestic product and discretionary spending, which can be negatively impacted by regional and world events or economic conditions. We have previously experienced significant revenue deterioration due to downturns in the global economy. Our industry is also affected by seasonal shifts in demand, subject to global, regional, end-use applications and other factors. Selling prices for our products are one of the main factors that affect the level of our profitability. In addition, our margins are impacted by significant changes in major input costs such as energy, raw material and other feedstocks.

Although we currently anticipate an economic downturn in the near term as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are unable to predict its duration or severity, nor are we able to predict the timing, duration or severity of any future downturns in the chemical industry or our customer’s industries. During downturns and periods of decreasing demand, our revenues are reduced, and we typically experience greater pricing pressure and shifts in products and mix. In particular, greater substitution of product imports from China may occur. Uncertain and volatile economic, political, public health or business conditions in any of the regions in which we operate can impact demand for our products. These conditions can cause material adverse changes in our results of operations and financial condition, including:

a decline in demand for our products, which will have an immediate impact on our revenues;
lower utilization of our manufacturing facilities as a result of measures taken to respond to such conditions, the health and well-being of our employees, availability of goods and services necessary to operate our plant, and other factors that could influence our plant utilization, which could lead to lower margins;
potential impairment charges relating to manufacturing equipment or other long-lived assets, to the extent that any downturn indicates that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable;
greater challenges in forecasting results of operations, making business decisions, and identifying and prioritizing business risks;
additional cost reduction efforts, including additional restructuring activities, which may adversely affect our ability to capitalize on opportunities; and
an increase in reserves for accounts receivable due to our customers' inability to pay us.

We anticipate that the economic conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic will likely cause us to experience at least some of these adverse changes, but we cannot predict the degree to which they will occur. While the COVID-19 pandemic did not have a material impact on our results of operations or liquidity for the three months ended March 31, 2020, we anticipate a decline in orders across our business during the second quarter of 2020 as orders begin to reflect an economic downturn, at least in the short term, and the impact of government ordered restrictions on our business. We cannot reasonably estimate with any degree of certainty the future adverse impacts the COVID-19 pandemic may have on our results of operations, financial position or liquidity; however, the impacts could be material. Furthermore, to remain competitive, we must invest in our infrastructure and maintain the ability to respond to any increases in demand, and our inability to respond appropriately to significant changes in demand may impact our profitability.





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The COVID-19 pandemic and related economic repercussions have created significant disruptions to the global economy and are expected to have an adverse effect on our business. The duration of the pandemic and its ultimate impacts on the global economy and our business remain unknown and we may not be able to effectively mitigate such impacts, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization designated the COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, governmental authorities have implemented and are continuing to implement numerous and constantly evolving measures to try to contain the virus, such as travel bans and restrictions, limits on gatherings, quarantines, shelter-in-place orders, and business shutdowns. We have manufacturing and other operations that are important to our company in areas significantly affected by the outbreak. Measures providing for business shutdowns generally exclude certain essential services, and those essential services commonly include critical infrastructure and the businesses that support that critical infrastructure. We believe our manufacturing facilities generally are considered essential services, and while all of our facilities remain operational, these measures have impacted and may further impact our workforce and operations, as well as those of our customers, partners and suppliers.

There is considerable uncertainty regarding the duration of the governmental measures currently in place and potential future measures. Although many such measures have had specific expiration dates, some of those measures have already been extended. Restrictions on our manufacturing, operations or employees, or similar limitations for our customers, partners and suppliers, could limit our ability to meet customer demand and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, restrictions or disruptions of transportation, such as reduced availability of air transport, port closures and increased border controls or closures, have started to result in higher costs and delays, which harm our profitability, and could make our products less competitive or cause our customers to seek alternative suppliers as these restrictions remain in place or become more restrictive in future periods. In addition, restrictions in certain countries could result in delays in obtaining needed approvals by governmental and regulatory authorities, including approvals for applications, renewals or extensions of waste disposal permits at our sulfate manufacturing sites.

We have a team focused on managing our business through the pandemic and we have enacted rigorous safety measures across our organization, including stopping non-essential business travel, increasing the personal protective equipment requirements at our manufacturing sites, removing contractors from site, increasing cleaning and sanitizing measures, implementing social distancing protocols, requiring work-from-home arrangements for those employees who do not need to be physically present and reducing the amount of employees working at a site at any given time. We expect to continue these measures until we determine that COVID-19 is adequately contained for purposes of safeguarding our employees and our business. We may take further actions as government authorities require or recommend, or as we determine to be in the best interest of our employees, customers, partners and suppliers. While we are following the requirements of governmental authorities and taking additional preventative and protective measures to ensure the safety of our workforce described above, we cannot be certain that these measures will be successful in ensuring the health of our workforce. For example, if an employee at one of our manufacturing sites were to contract COVID-19, this could result in temporary closures, reduced production hours, and increased cleaning and logistical costs.Workforce disruptions of this nature could significantly impact our ability to maintain our operations and adversely affect our financial results.In addition, as a result of the pandemic and the related increase in remote working by our personnel and personnel of other companies, the risk of cyber-attacks, breaches or similar events, whether through our systems or those of third parties on which we rely, has increased.

We have not yet experienced significant impacts or interruptions to our supply chain as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, certain of our suppliers have faced difficulties maintaining operations due to government-ordered restrictions and shelter-in-place mandates. While we have thus far been able to identify alternative sourcing arrangements without disrupting our supply chain, financial hardship on our suppliers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could cause material disruptions in our raw material supply. We are proactively managing our supplier network by maintaining close contact and ensuring alternative arrangements are available in case our primary suppliers are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, if we, our suppliers or customers are unable to perform our contractual obligations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a force majeure event may be declared, rendering us, our suppliers or our customers unable to deliver all, or a portion of, any impacted orders or other contractual arrangements. If this were to occur, we may be forced to limit production and our customers could choose to discontinue or decrease the
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purchase of our products as a result of these measures. Such force majeure events could have significant negative impacts on our business.

We cannot be certain that the measures we have taken to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 will be effective. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, we may experience adverse impacts on our results of operations, including our ability to access capital on favorable terms. Although the duration and ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is unknown at this time, a decline in economic conditions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic may materially adversely impact our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. Further, additional actions by health or other governmental authorities requiring the closure of our facilities or recommending other measures could create additional negative impacts on all aspects of our business, including our employees, customers, suppliers, partners, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. Our availability to borrow under the ABL Facility is subject to a borrowing base calculation comprising both accounts receivable and inventory in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Germany and only accounts receivable in France and Spain. Thus, the base calculation may fluctuate from time to time and may be further impacted by the lenders’ discretionary ability to impose reserves and availability blocks that might otherwise incrementally increase borrowing availability.In the event the COVID-19pandemic and related measures causes a recession or other downturn in the worldwide economy, and decreases demand for our products, our availability to borrow under our ABL Facility would likely decline as well as our cash flow from operations.Like many others in our industry, our share price has declined sharply as a result of COVID- 19 and related impacts, and may impact our ability to raise capital through equity markets.
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ITEM 6. EXHIBITS


Each exhibit identified below is filed as a part of this report. Exhibits designated with an "*" are filed as an exhibit to this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and Exhibits designated with an "+" indicates a management contract or compensatory plan.
Incorporated by Reference
Exhibit
Number
Description
Schedule
Form
ExhibitFiling Date
31.1*
31.2*
32.1*
32.2*
101.INS*101.INSXBRL Instance Document - the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.
101.SCH*XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL*XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.DEF*XBRL Taxonomy Definition Linkbase Document
101.LAB*XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels Linkbase Document
101.PRE*XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
104*The cover page to this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, formatted in XBRL


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SIGNATURES


Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
VENATOR MATERIALS PLC
(Registrant)
Date:May 6, 2020
VENATOR MATERIALS PLC
(Registrant)
By:
Date:May 9, 2019By:/s/ Kurt D. Ogden
Kurt D. Ogden
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Date:May 9, 20196, 2020By:/s/ Stephen Ibbotson
Stephen Ibbotson
Vice President and Controller





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