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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Eastman Chemical Co.'s
first-quarter earnings rose 56% as the chemical and materials manufacturer was
helped by a recent acquisition, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The
company, which makes a variety of chemicals, plastics and synthetic fibers, has
posted lower profit recently, hurt by costs related to acquisitions and
restructuring. Last July, it finalized the roughly USD3.38 billion takeover of
peer specialty-chemicals firm Solutia Inc., a deal aimed at expanding Eastman's
global presence and stabilizing margins.
For the latest quarter,
Eastman posted a profit of USD247 million, or USD1.60 a share, up from USD158
million, or USD1.12 a share a year earlier. Excluding Solutia-related costs and
other impacts, earnings from continuing operations increased to USD1.62 a share,
from USD1.22.
Revenue increased 27% to USD2.31 billion, helped by the
Solutia acquisition.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were
expecting per-share earnings of USD1.57 a share on revenue of USD2.38
billion.
Gross margin widened to 26.7% from
23.7%.
Eastman's biggest revenue generator, the specialty fluids
and intermediates segment, saw sales grow 6.7%.
Sales in the
advanced materials unit doubled, benefitting from the acquired Solutia
interlawyers and performance films product lines and strong demand in Asia.
We remind that, as MRC informed
previously, in early October 2012, Eastman Chemical Company announced
the addition of new PET polymer Aspir to its portfolio of resins. |
