МOSCOW (MRC) -- Swiss specialty chemicals maker Clariant posted a steeper-than-expected drop in fourth-quarter net profit and said it would offer shareholders a slightly lower dividend than analysts had expected, said Reuters.
Net profit from continuing operations in the final three months of 2015 fell to 24 million Swiss francs (USD24.3 million) from 133 million francs in the year-ago period, lagging the average estimate of 65.9 million in a Reuters poll.
Results in the year-ago period were boosted by an asset sale in India.
Clariant proposed an unchanged dividend of 0.40 francs per share for 2015, below the poll average of 0.43 francs.
For 2016, Clariant said it was confident of achieving growth in local currencies along with a progression in operating cash flow and EBITDA margin before exceptional items.
As MRC informed earlier, Clariant Masterbatches Saudi Arabia, a joint venture (JV) between Clariant and Rowad National Plastic Company, has started construction of a new masterbatch production unit in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia.
Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
MRC