Perstorp specialties division sales up 19% in Q3 2017

Malmo, Sweden — Perstorp’s specialties and solutions division, which includes specialty polyols and the firm’s Capa business, had sales of SEK 758 m ($90m) in the third quarter of 2017, up 19% compared with SEK 638 m in the third quarter of 2016.

At the same time, earnings before interest taxation depreciation and amortisation rose by 4.6% to SEK 179 m, compared with SEK 171 m in the third quarter of 2016.

The company said that the strong organic growth in the caprolactones business unit helped to drive the numbers forward. However, margins fell because of the product and customer mix and higher raw material prices. The specialties and solutions business accounts for 23% of the company’s total sales.

Overall, Perstorp had sales of SEK 3.4 bn in the third quarter of 2017 compared to SEK 2.8 bn in the same period in 2016. Earnings across the company rose from SEK 517 m in the first quarter of 2016 to SEK 676 m in the third quarter of 2017.

Perstorp CEO Jan Secher said of the first nine months of 2017, ‘General demand continues to be high and coherent across all three regions – EMEA, Americas and APAC, but the supply situation to become somewhat less tight. The volatility in the raw material prices keeps us on our toes in terms of pricing in many areas.’