Woodland Park, New Jersey - Cytec Industries Inc., a global speciality chemical company, has reported a $24.8 million loss for the six months ending 30 June 2009 (Q2).
In Coating Resins, which includes most of Cytec's polyurethane materials, overall selling volumes were down by 30 percent compared to Q2 2008, with continued weak demand in the industrial coatings markets impacting the segment, Cytec said. Operating loss in Coatings Resins of $19.2 million was down from $21.9 million in the second quarter of 2008, principally due to the weak global economic conditions impacting volumes across all product lines in the segment, the company added. Cytec's PU resins include the brands Conap and Ucecoat. The company also has a range of PU dispersion brands.
In February 2009, Novotex Italiana SpA, which is part of polyurethane specialist COIM Group, announced that it was buying the European business, technology and manufacturing rights of the polyurethane division of Cytec Surface Specialities, based in Drogenbos, Belgium.
"Sales declined across all specialty chemical segments in the second quarter compared with the prior year due to the weak economy compounded by customer de-stocking activity," said Shane Fleming, Cytec ceo. Fleming said that the company has however been "encouraged" by the 18 percent increase in sales compared to Q1 and month-to-month improvement in Q2.
"While the first half of this year has been extremely challenging, we have begun to see some positive signs of demand improvement in our specialty chemical segments, Fleming," concluded. (RD)
"
