Shares of Venator Materials PLC VNTR, -8.05% tumbled 11.7% toward a record low in morning trading Thursday, after the chemical products maker warned of sales weakness in the third quarter. The company said it expects to report third-quarter titanium dioxide (TiO2) sales volumes that are about 25% below second-quarter levels. “During the third quarter we saw a meaningful decline in sales volume for our TiO2 products in the European and Asian regions,” said Chief Executive Simon Turner. Given the lower sales, limited visibility and “persistently high” energy costs, the company has reduced production at its Uerdingen, Germany facility to “minimal levels” and is also cutting production at its Duisburg, Germany facility. The company is also implementing other cost cutting measures across its business. Venator’s warnings comes a little more than week after Tronox Holdings PLC TROX, -4.28% warned of a shortfall in TiO2 sales, and about two weeks after Chemours Co. CC, -3.51% lowered guidance due to continued demand declines in its Titanium Technologies business. Venator’s stock has tumbled 55.8% over the past three months while the S&P 500 SPX, -1.02% has slipped 1.7%.
