MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ferro has reported third-quarter net income up 12.9% year-on-year (YOY), to USD14.5 million, on net sales down 1.4%, to USD241.9 million, reported Chemweek.
Adjusted earnings totaled 19 cents/share, beating analysts’ consensus estimate of 15 cents/share, as reported by Refinitiv (New York, New York). Sales were up 18.1% on a sequential basis from the second-quarter, exceeding the company’s expectations.
“We currently expect the positive trends in demand for our products to continue in the coming months,” says Ferro CEO Peter Thomas. “Our customers do not appear to be de-stocking in the fourth quarter, as they have in more typical years, and we are seeing an uptick in demand for the new year as our customers’ markets continue to recover. We also believe that changes in consumer and other behavior resulting from the COVID pandemic will accelerate demand for Ferro products in multiple markets, including renewables, healthcare, and electronics.” The company does not anticipate a “significant impact” to demand from a second wave of the pandemic, Thomas adds.
Functional coatings segment sales declined 0.3% YOY, to USD154.2 million, while segment gross profit was down 11.4%, to USD41.6 million. Color solutions segment sales fell 3.2% YOY, to USD87.7 million, while segment gross profit declined 2.3%, to USD28.5 million.
As MRC informed before, on October 14, 2016, Ferro signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the stock of Belgium-based Cappelle Pigments for EUR50.5 million (approximately USD56 million) on a cash-free and debt-free basis.
We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in September 2020 by 6.7% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals increased in the first nine months of 2020 by 6.1% year on year, according to Rosstat's data. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, polymers in primary form accounted for the greatest increase in the January-September output. September production of primary polymers in Russia decreased to 852,000 tonnes from 888,000 tonnes in August due to shutdowns in Tomsk, Ufa and Kazan. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 7,480,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 16.4% year on year.
Ferro Corporation is a leading global functional coatings and color solutions company that supplies technology-based performance materials, including glass-based coatings, pigments and colors, and polishing materials. Ferro products are sold into the building and construction, automotive, appliances, electronics, household furnishings, and industrial products markets. Headquartered in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, the Company has approximately 4,900 employees globally.
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