Abbott has served as senior vice president and chief enterprise transformation officer, with responsibility for enterprise capital projects and engineering technology, information technology, cyber security, digital and data analytics, and procurement, since June 2023. He had previously served as vice president and digital and data analytics leader and in other roles, and before joining Chemours had been a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

“We are fortunate to have two very experienced and capable leaders in our ranks to step up and fill these roles,” board chairwoman Dawn Farrell said in a press release. “Denise is highly regarded by the board of directors for the work she’s done in leading both of our Titanium Technologies and Advanced Performance Materials businesses. These businesses combined were more than 68% of our net sales in 2023.

“Matt Abbott has held senior officer roles in operational, accounting, and internal audit areas during his time at Chemours,” Farrell continued. “The board has confidence in his extensive knowledge of our company, and his prior experience as an audit partner with PwC makes him the clear choice.”

The moves followed the board’s decisions to place president and CEO Mark Newman, senior vice president and CEO Jonathan Lock, and vice president, controller, and principal accounting officer Camela Wisel on administrative leave pending an internal review, the press release said.

The review is being overseen by the board’s audit committee with the assistance of independent outside counsel. The scope of the review will include the processes for reviewing reports made to the Chemours ethics hotline; the company’s practices for managing working capital, including the related impact on metrics within the company’s incentive plans; certain non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) metrics included in filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or otherwise publicly released; and related disclosures, the Chemours press release said.

The company is evaluating one or more potential material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting as of Dec. 31, 2023, with respect to maintaining effective controls related to the control environment, including the effectiveness of the “tone at the top” set by certain members of senior management and information and communication components of the internal controls framework, the press release said. The audit committee is working with outside counsel to complete the review expeditiously, and the company expects to report on any material weaknesses, if found, and any related remediation efforts in its Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The Chemours press release said the company needs additional time to complete its year-end reporting process, including its review of internal control over financial reporting as of Dec. 31, 2023, and to complete the internal review. As a result, the company will delay its earnings release and conference call relating to fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 financial results, as well as the filing of its Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2023, the press release said. In connection with this delay, the company will file a notification of late filing with the SEC.

The company will issue a press release to announce the date and time of its fourth-quarter conference call once the filing date of its Annual Report on Form 10-K is confirmed.

The Chemours press release included unaudited preliminary estimates of operating results and other financial measures for the year that ended Dec. 31, together, for comparison purposes, with information previously reported for the year that ended Dec. 31, 2022.

The company expects to report 2023 net sales of approximately $6 billion, compared to 2022 net sales of $6.8 billion. The expected decrease was primarily attributable to lower volumes in Titanium Technologies and the Advanced Performance Materials’ Advanced Materials portfolio, partially offset by increased pricing and volumes in Thermal & Specialized Solutions, Chemours said.

The company expects to report a net 2023 loss attributable to Chemours of between $225 million and $235 million, compared to 2022 net income attributable to Chemours of $578 million. The estimated net loss for 2023 includes $746 million of pre-tax litigation settlements and $153 million in restructuring, asset-related, and other charges, offset by a $106 million net pre-tax gain associated with the sale of the Glycolic Acid business, the company said.

As of Dec. 31, 2023, the company maintained cash and cash equivalents of $1.2 billion; it has restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents of $604 million primarily relating to the U.S. public water district settlement. This compares to $1.1 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of Dec. 31, 2022, excluding restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents of $202 million relating to the escrow account established pursuant to the 2021 Memorandum of Understanding with DuPont de Nemours Inc., Corteva Inc., and EIDP Inc. As of Dec. 31, 2023, the company maintained $0.9 billion of revolving credit facility capacity, net of outstanding letters of credit, compared to $0.8 billion at the end of 2022.

All financial results for 2023 are preliminary, based upon estimates which the company believes are reasonable, unaudited by the company’s independent registered public accounting firm, and subject to possible changes after the completion of the year-end reporting process. They will not be final until the company files its audited financial statements in its Annual Report on Form 10-K, the company said. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on this preliminary data, the company said.