July 2013 Additives for Polymers9

FINANCIALS

FINANCIALS

Ferro suffers first quarter dip; finalizes CEO appointment

For the first quarter of 2013, Ferro Corp posted US$418 million in net sales, compared to $460

million in 1Q 2012. The company’s net income for 1Q 2013 was $0.8 million, down from $3.8 million for the same period in 2012.

The decline in net sales affected all segments and was attrib-uted to reduced volumes and changes in pricing and mix. On a sequential basis, net sales increased 4.4% compared to 4Q 2012. While net income fell, adjusted net income from continuing operations rose to $8.4 million in 1Q 2013 from $5.5 million a year earlier because of the company’s exit from its solar pastes business. Adjusted EBITDA was approximately $32 million compared with $28 million in 1Q 2012.

According to Ferro, the first-quarter adjusted earn-ings exceeded expectations. It has therefore increased its guidance for the full year based on these results and the progress of its value creation strategy, which achieved a 15% reduction in SG&A expenses for the quarter. As part of its value creation strategy, the company has reorgan-ized its businesses to improve operating efficiencies and better align commercial and manufacturing operations with the markets served. As a result it has modified its reporting structure. Specialty Plastics, Polymer Additives and Performance are unchanged, Electronic Materials disappears and the former Color and Glass Performance Materials reporting segment has been divided into two new segments: Performance Colors and Glass; and Pigments, Powders and Oxides. In conjunction with the amended reportable segments, Ferro has also changed the profitability metric used by management to evaluate seg-ment performance from operating profit to gross profit.

For the Polymer Additives segment, Ferro reports that 1Q 2013 sales of $80.8 million ($87.7 million in 1Q 2012) were adversely impacted by expected changes in environmental regulations pertaining to certain plasticizer products, which is resulting in product replacement by customers, particularly in Europe. As a result of the lower sales volumes, the segment’s gross profit fell to $8.8 mil-lion in 1Q 2013 from $11.4 million a year earlier.

In other news, Ferro has appointed Peter Thomas as president and CEO of the company. He has served as interim president and CEO since November 2012

[ADPO, January 2013]. Thomas has also now joined Ferro’s board of directors. In addition, William Lawrence has been confirmed as chairman of the board.

Contact: Ferro Corp, Mayfield Heights, OH, USA. Tel: +1 216 875 5600,

Web: www.ferro.com

Clariant achieves steady first quarter in 2013

Switzerland’s Clariant posted net sales of CHF1.526 billion (E1.24 billion) for the first

three months of 2013, up 1% compared to CHF1.513 billion in 1Q 2012 as a result of organic growth. EBITDA for the quarter declined 1% to CHF209 million. However, net income from contin-uing operations was CHF38 million compared to CHF16 million in 1Q 2012 because of a significant drop in exceptional items.

Regionally, Latin America showed the highest growth, with a 10% increase in local currency sales. Sales grew 2% year on year in Europe and 5% in North America, remained unchanged in Asia Pacific, but fell 10% in the Middle East and Africa. Looking ahead, Clariant says it expects solid growth in emerging markets but no signifi-cant growth in Europe or North America. ‘Clariant had an encouraging start to the year as sales continued to grow and margins remained robust under stabilizing eco-nomic conditions’, says CEO Hariolf Kottmann.

From the start of the year, Clariant has regrouped its seven Business Units (BUs) into four Business Areas for reporting purposes. Its Additives, Masterbatches and Pigments BUs are now grouped together within the Plastics & Coatings business area, which achieved CHF641 million in sales, 3% lower pro rata than in 1Q 2012. In the Pigments BU, rev-enues increased in the printing and plastic segments, where demand has shown moderate recovery, but weakened in the coatings segment. Masterbatches sales were slightly lower compared to 1Q 2012. In Additives, the flame retardants business continued at the lower level of the second half of 2012, not reaching the high level of the first quarter, due to on-going weakness in the electronics market.

Contact: Clariant International Ltd, Muttenz, Switzerland.

Tel: +41 61 469 6969, Web: www.clariant.com