Essen, Germany — Polyurethane catalyst and surfactants company, Evonik had total sales of EUR 3.3bn in the first quarter of 2019. This is down 1.2% on the equivalent period last year.
Falling diisocyanate prices help Evonik in Q1 2019
Adjusted EBITDA across the business fell 2.7% and reached EUR 539m in the first quarter of 2019.
The company's Nutrition & Care business, which is where the polyurethane additives are housed, had sales which rose 2.7% between Q1 2018 and Q1 2019. They reached EUR 1.1bn in the Q2 2019 period.
At the same time, Adjusted EBITDA in the division fell 13.9%. It reached EUR 180m in the first quarter of 2019. This compares with EUR 209m reached in the equivalent period last year.
However, Evonik said that its Comfort & Insulation business had a solid start in demanding macro environment. This was helped along by price falls for MDI and TDI in the quarter. This supported demand for the company's polyurethane surfactants and catalysts businesses.
Looking across the business, chairman Christian Kullmann said: 'We were able to hold our ground in terms of sales and earnings. Our portfolio is now more robust it he face of macroeconomic trends than it was in the past.'
