The Woodlands, Texas -- Huntsman Polyurethanes has reported that revenues rose to $932 million for the second quarter of 2010 (Q2) from $695 million for the same period of 2009. Segment revenue for the first six months of 2010 rose to $1699 million from $1295 million in the first half of 2009, Huntsman said 5 Aug.
Q2 earnings were down to $70 million from $86 million in the second quarter of 2009 but increased to $122 million fro the first six months of 2010, compared to $112 in the first half of 2009.
The Q2 increase in revenues in Huntsman's PU business was mainly due to higher selling prices and higher sales volumes. MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate) sales volumes increased as a result of improved demand in all regions and all markets accept appliances. Sales volumes of propylene oxide (PO) and MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether) increased generally due to improved demand, Huntsman said.
"The second quarter of 2010 was a strong quarter for us, the combination of a number of conditions resulted in adjusted earnings we haven't seen since 2007," said Huntsman ceo Peter Huntsman. "We increased selling prices to offset recent pressure in raw material costs. In addition, the benefits of our successful cost saving efforts implemented in 2009 are evident in the bottom line," he added.
"North American and European economies, which represent approximately two thirds of our volume, still show relatively modest growth. We continue to have idle capacity in many of our products that will be more fully utilised as demand improves," Huntsman said. (RD)
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