Leverkusen, Germany - Bayer MaterialScience has reported "substantial increases in sales and earnings," in the third quarter of 2010, partly thanks to a 22.7 percent jump in its polyurethane foam raw materials business.
Sales of Bayer MaterialScience were up by 30.8 percent, to Euro 2665 million ($3687 million), mainly due to significantly higher demand in the main customer industries, although the company said it also achieved "a distinct increase in selling prices overall."
"We are pleased that our third-quarter results showed an improvement on last year, and we remain confident for the full year 2010," management board chairman Dr Marijn Dekkers said on Thursday, 28 Oct, following publication of the firm's interim financial report.
The major rise in business with foam raw materials was largely thanks to marked volume increases in all products and regions, the firm said, adding that the largest volume gains were achieved in Asia/Pacific. The trend was similar in the Europe region, which last year was still weighed down by the economic crisis, BMS pointed out.
The high-tech plastics (Polycarbonates) business also developed very well, with sales advancing by 28.7 percent. Sales of raw materials for coatings, adhesives and specialties, which also includes some diisocyanate-based materials, grew by 17.6 percent. This was largely due to significant volume increases in all product groups and regions, with demand picking up noticeably in Asia/Pacific and Europe in particular, said BMS.
EBITDA before special items of MaterialScience rose 72 percent to Euro 409 million, due to substantial volume gains, higher selling prices and efficiency improvements. On the other hand, earnings were hampered by the increase in raw material costs, BMS said.
The company's total sales grow by 16.1 percent to Euro 8581 million, with EBITDA before special items up 10.5 percent to Euro 1656 million.
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