MOSCOW (MRC) -- Speciality chemicals producer Clariant (Muttenz / Switzerland) has reported operating profit (EBITDA) of CHF 214m (EUR 176m) in the second quarter of 2014, up from CHF 211m in Q2 2013, as per the companie's report.
However, in local currencies, EBITDA increased by 9% year-on-year in the quarter. Operating margin in the period rose to 14% from 13.7% in the second quarter of 2013, thanks to higher gross margin and reduced selling, general and administrative costs, which more than compensated for a 1.5% point negative impact from exchange rate developments, the company said.
Sales in the quarter were CHF 1.53 bn, compared to CHF 1.54 bn in Q2 2013, but grew by 6% year-on-year in local currencies. Unfavourable development of the US dollar and Japanese yen, and emerging market currencies including the Brazilian real and Indian rupee, translated into the 1% reduction in sales in Swiss francs.
In the second quarter of 2014, EBITDA margin before exceptional items in the plastics and coatings business area of 14.0% was lower than the second quarter of 2013, as higher volumes could not compensate for unfavourable currency developments. Sales in the business increased 6% in local currencies and were flat in Swiss francs compared to Q2 2013.
All three businesses in the plastics and coatings area – pigments, masterbatches, and additives – contributed to growth, the company said. Pigments achieved strong sales gains in local currencies in most regions, with particularly strong demand in Asia/Pacific, Latin America, and North America. Masterbatches experienced good sales growth in local currencies, thanks to strong demand in emerging markets, while sales in mature markets decreased. Additives achieved strong sales growth in flame retardants and polymer additives, while waxes grew moderately, Clariant said, with growth in local currencies highest in North America and Europe.
As MRC wrote before, CB&I and Clariant announced that their new Ziegler-Natta (ZN) polypropylene catalyst plant in Louisville, Kentucky, is on schedule to begin production in 2015. The plant is part of a long-term strategic partnership between Clariant’s catalysts business and CB&I’s Lummus Novolen Technology business. Based at Clariant’s largest US production hub, the new facility will combine innovative catalysts jointly developed by both companies with high-capacity output.
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