Leverkusen, Germany – Covestro’s polyurethane sales dipped 8.4% to EUR1.5bn ($1.6bn) during Q3 2015 compared to the same period in 2014, according to the firm’s latest financial report.
During the first nine months of 2015 the company’s net revenue from PU was EUR4.7bn a 0.2% rise on the first nine months of 2014.
Covestro’s overall Q3 sales were reported at EUR3.02bn - a drop of 1.4% on Q3 2014. Its sales for the first nine months of 2015 reached EUR9.2bn – 5.7% higher than they were in the same period in 2014.
The company’s first financial report after its spinoff from Bayer MaterialScience earlier this year showed its gross profit jump almost 30% from EUR576m in Q3 2014 to EUR747m in Q3 2015.
According to the report, the cost of the goods the company sold during Q3 2015 dropped 8% to EUR2.2bn in Q3 2015, compared to 2.4% in Q3 2014.
Stefan Mechnig, external communications/general media spokesman, told Urethanes Technology International magazine that “roughly half the increase in adjusted EBITDA was due to positive currency affects and foreign exchange rates.
“The remainder was due to higher margins,” however, he added these were “more favourable in the polycarbonates segment.”
He also described the current raw material supply and demand situation as “in [Covestro’s] favour”.
“Because of this, our raw material costs prices decreased more than selling prices” – a situation he said “appears to be sustainable” going forward.
Production efficiency at Covestro over Q3 presented a “mixed picture” said Mechnig. “There was higher utilisation in the polycarbonates but lower in the TDI business due to significant capacity additions.”
Overhead costs related to the spinoff from Bayer had not affected Q3 figures, he said, as there was no “big difference”. The company’s capital expenditure was reduced to EUR128m during Q3 2015, 4.5% lower than during Q3 2014.
XE Currency conversion: 12 November, 2015
