Lori J. Ryerkerk
Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President at Celanese
Thank you, Bill, and good morning, everyone. As Bill said, before we get started with questions today, I wanted to take a moment to emphasize a few key points. First, it is clear from our prepared comments that our results for Q3 were disappointing. And the outlook for Q4 and into 2025 is below both our expectations and our goals. Despite the many actions that we've taken to continue to deliver value, the benefit from these measures has been increasingly offset by the broad and persistent macroeconomic headwinds.
Given the dynamic we intend to temporarily reduce our quarterly dividend beginning in the first quarter of 2025. While we recognize the importance of the dividend to our shareholders, we've carefully considered a variety of options, and we have determined that this is the most prudent and cost-effective measure to support our deleveraging efforts at this time. We will look forward to accelerating the return of capital to shareholders once we have progressed our deleveraging efforts.
To further help us navigate this challenging environment, we have identified and will take additional bold actions to strengthen earnings and cash generation. We have a strong track record of delivery and operational excellence and are confident that we are taking the right actions. For example, we are significantly slowing production to match demand in Q4 and implementing further cost reductions, particularly in SG&A.
We hold ourselves to a high standard, and the steps that we are taking are driving durable improvements for the company as we build an increasingly disciplined cross structure and better position the business to drive long-term growth. In closing, I want to thank our teams for their dedication and resilience in the face of persistent demand challenges in our end markets. I am confident that our actions have and will continue to position Celanese to create substantial value for our shareholders. We believe in Celanesa's long-term potential, and we are leaving no stone unturned to capture opportunities that will benefit us both now and once demand begins to recover.
With that, we'll open the line for questions.