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(plasteurope) -- Business improved for
troubled Swiss speciality chemicals producer Clariant in Q1 2010. EBIT
totalled CHF 183m (EUR 127.7m) after a loss of CHF 13m in the 2009 quarter.
EBITDA before exceptional items increased to CHF 235m from CHF 43m and net
profit swung to EUR 10m after a loss of CHF 91m. While sales rose 16% to CHF 1.8
bn, “clearly behind pre-crisis levels,” management said figures “improved
significantly compared to a year ago.” Sales growth in the plastics-related
businesses Pigments and Masterbatches was “above the group level.”
For the full year, CEO Hariolf Kottmann said the economic recovery is
expected to remain fragile and raw material prices are believed to rise further
heading into the seasonally weaker second half. “We do not anticipate an
operating performance at the same strong level of the first quarter,” he said,
but added that the EBIT margin is likely to be above the 6.6% figure of
2008.
Clariant’s Pigments business unit posted EBITDA of CHF 54m in the first three
months of 2010, after a CHF 5m loss in January-March 2009, and the EBITDA margin
swung to a positive 19.2% from a negative 2%. Sales rose 17% to CHF 281m.
De-stocking has come to an end, the group said, and “some replenishment of
stocks took place in the first quarter.” The recovery was driven by automotive,
decorative paint and “the upswing in the plastics industry that started some
months ago.” Growth in emerging markets was strongest, but Europe and North
America stabilised. Margins improved thanks to an “aggressive” reduction of
personnel costs. The production network will be further optimised during
2010.
In Masterbatches, the recovery that began in the third quarter of 2009 was
“confirmed in the first quarter of 2010,” Clariant said. While “demand was
robust across all markets and regions,” Germany saw “an unexpectedly strong
recovery in automotive applications.” Margins remained stable, despite rising
costs for polyolefins, along with “certain pigments and additives.” Through
“selective price increases,” the unit plans to pass on “the higher input costs
that are expected for the remainder of 2010.” Going forward, Masterbatches will
continue to optimise its cost structure and hopes to make further inroads into
medical applications and the liquid masterbatch field.
mrcplast.com |
