Hunstman Shares Slump On Quarterly Loss

Hunstman(HUN Quote) shares sunk 10% Friday after the company said slumping demand for its industrial chemical products led to a loss in its first quarter.

The company, spurned late last year by its privately held rival Hexion in a merger deal gone sour, said it lost $290 million, or $1.24 a share.

Adjusted to exclude a tax allowance for its U.K. operations and to reflect the disbursement of several businesses between this year and last, Huntsman said it lost $128 million, or 55 cents a share. That's still far worse than analysts' expectations, according to Thomson Reuters, of a 22-cent loss on an EPS basis. ...