Basis of Presentation

75 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

A. Basis of Presentation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Cabot Corporation (“Cabot” or the “Company”) and its wholly owned subsidiaries and majority-owned and controlled U.S. and non-U.S. subsidiaries. Additionally, Cabot considers consolidation of entities over which control is achieved through means other than voting rights in the periods presented. Intercompany transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

The unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of Form 10-Q and consequently do not include all disclosures required by Form 10-K. Additional information may be obtained by referring to Cabot’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2014 (“2014 10-K”).

The financial information submitted herewith is unaudited and reflects all adjustments which are, in the opinion of management, necessary to provide a fair statement of the results for the interim periods ended December 31, 2014 and 2013. All such adjustments are of a normal recurring nature. The results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the fiscal year.

In November 2013, the Company purchased all of Grupo Kuo S.A.B. de C.V.’s (“KUO”) common stock in NHUMO, S.A. de C.V. (“NHUMO”), a carbon black joint venture between the Company and KUO in Mexico, which represented approximately 60% of the outstanding common stock of NHUMO (the “NHUMO transaction”). Prior to this transaction, the Company owned approximately 40% of the outstanding common stock of NHUMO, and the NHUMO entity was accounted for as an equity affiliate of the Company. The financial position, results of operations and cash flows of NHUMO are included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements from the date of acquisition.

In July 2014, the Company completed the sale of its Security Materials business. The Consolidated Statements of Operations and the notes to the consolidated financial statements for all periods presented exclude the Security Materials business.

In December 2014, the Company realigned its business reporting structure into four segments that consist of Reinforcement Materials, Performance Chemicals, Purification Solutions and Specialty Fluids. The new structure is aligned with senior management changes and it better leverages Cabot’s global activities across common customer applications, production, and research and development activities. Prior period segment results have been recast to reflect the realignment.