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Ferro reports full-year gains but fourth-quarter loss
FINANCIALS
retardants from the electronics industry, particularly for printed wiring board applications, he comments. The lower demand for flame retardants was cited as the chief cause of a $27 million reduction in sales volume for the Industrial Engineered Products segment in 4Q 2011. However, the segment still achieved a $3 million gain in net sales to $194 million due to higher selling prices and favourable foreign currency translation effects. On a GAAP basis, operating income increased by $17 million to $30 million as compared to the same period last year as 2010 was impacted by accelerated depreciation of property, plant and equipment. Industrial Performance Products’ net sales increased $7 million or 2% to $310 million driven principally by higher selling prices, offset by lower sales volume within the antioxidants and petroleum additives businesses. On a GAAP basis, operating income increased $8 million to $37 million compared to the same period last year as 2011 was impacted by accelerated recognition of asset retirement obligations, the company explains.
across all divisions contributed to this growth, BASF says. Volumes declined by 6%, particularly in the Paper Chemicals and Performance Chemicals divisions. EBIT before special items declined by 25% due to expenses related to the integration of Cognis and margin pressure due to intense competition, the company reports. Looking ahead, BASF says it is unlikely that results in the first half of 2012 will match the same high levels achieved in the first two quarters of 2011. However, it expects to surpass 2011 levels during the second half of the year.
Contact: Chemtura Corp, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Tel: +1 203 573 2000, Web: www.chemtura.com
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BASF posts record sales in 2011 n 2011, BASF SE posted record sales of E73.5 billion, up 15% from 2010, with all regions contributing. Income from operations (EBIT) before special items improved by 4% to E8.4 billion and EBIT increased almost 11% to E8.6 billion, the company reports. Sales in 4Q 2011 at around E18.1 billion were higher than in 4Q 2010 and 3Q 2011, but the slowing of the economy over the course of the year was reflected in the EBIT before special items, which at E1.5 billion was 14% below 4Q 2010. Customers were more cautious in their ordering, reduced their inventories and put off orders in expectation that the economy would decline and prices could possibly soften, BASF observed. The Performance Products segment recorded a 28% increase in full-year sales to E15.7 billion. EBIT before special items reached E1.7 billion, an increase of 11%. For the fourth quarter, the segment posted a 19% rise in sales compared with the same quarter of 2010. The inclusion of the Cognis businesses and price increases
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Additives for Polymers
Contact: BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. Tel: +49 621 60 0, Web: www.basf.com
Ferro reports full-year gains but fourth-quarter loss hio-based performance materials company Ferro Corp achieved net sales of US$2.16 billion for the year ended 31 December 2011, an increase of 2.6% compared with $2.10 billion in 2010. Net income was $31.5 million in 2011 compared with $5.0 million the previous year. The improvement was driven by significantly lower restructuring and impairment charges, reduced losses on extinguishment of debt and lower interest expense, partially offset by reduced gross profit and higher income tax expense. The company reports that sales increased in all segments except Electronic Materials, where reduced demand and excess inventories of solar power modules resulted in decreased demand for the company’s conductive metal pastes. Excluding the Electronic Materials segment, sales increased by 7.5% compared with 2010. During 2011, changes in product pricing and mix were the primary drivers of increased sales, accounting for ten percentage points of sales growth. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates contributed an additional two percentage points of sales growth, while lower sales volume reduced growth by nine percentage points. For the fourth quarter of 2011, Ferro posted net sales of $443 million, a decline of 18% from net sales of $537 million in 4Q 2010. The fall in sales was largely due to the weakness in the Electronic
May 2012
ENVIRONMENT
Materials segment; sales increased in the Performance Coatings, Polymer Additives, Specialty Plastics and Pharmaceuticals segments compared with 2010 quarter, while sales declined in the Color and Glass Performance Materials segment. The company recorded a net loss of $28.8 million for the three-month period, compared with net income of $1.8 million in 4Q 2010. The company’s Polymer Additives segment reported sales of $337 million in 2011, a rise of 11.4% from 2010 sales of $302 million. In 4Q 2011, segment sales were $74 million, up 4.6% on the $71 million reported for the same period in 2010. Segment income of $15 million for 2011 was down 17% compared to the previous year but 4Q income declined by some 90% year on year. Contact: Ferro Corp, Mayfield Heights, OH, USA. Tel: +1 216 875 5600, Web: www.ferro.com
ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES AkzoNobel and DSM launch BluCure™ cobalt-free curing technologies
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utch chemicals and coatings company AkzoNobel and its compatriot DSM have officially launched the BluCure™ umbrella brand covering innovative cobalt-free resin curing technologies and products. At the recent JEC Composites show in Paris, the two companies also unveiled the BluCure quality seal, which offers the composites industry a way to distinguish products that are based on 100% cobaltfree BluCure technology. The novel curing solutions offer the market more sustainable alternatives to the conventional, cobalt-based
May 2012
systems currently in use, the partners say. BluCure products are either cobalt-free accelerators or cobaltfree pre-accelerated resins and meet strict criteria. The technology offers ‘opportunities for outstanding performance and sustainable end-user value’, both now and in the future, according to the two companies. Anticipating increasing environmental pressure on cobalt, AkzoNobel and DSM had been working independently for several years on the development of cobalt-free resin curing systems [see for example, ADPO, March 2011]. Both had successfully scaled up the technologies and filed a broad range of patents covering many types of accelerator systems and materials. In January this year, the two companies combined forces and signed a licence agreement on cobalt-free technologies for the curing of thermoset resins. The launch of the BluCure brand and quality seal is the outcome of this agreement and will bring ‘viable, leading-edge solutions to the whole composites industry’, according to Alain Rynwalt, sBU director marketing & sales XTP EMEA for AkzoNobel Functional Chemicals. ‘BluCure™ opens up access to leading-edge, cobalt-free curing technologies through sub-licensing, providing genuine alternatives to cobaltbased accelerator systems for all composite component and resin manufacturers’, adds Wilfrid Gambade, president of DSM Composite Resins. AkzoNobel and DSM report that discussions are ongoing with several resin manufacturers who are interested in partnering up with BluCure. Composite component manufacturers are now also invited to join in by obtaining a licence to use the BluCure Seal on their products, they say. More information on 100% cobaltfree curing can be found at www.BluCure.com. Contact: AkzoNobel Functional Chemicals, Amersfoort, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 33 467 6767, Web: www.akzonobel.com/polymer Or contact: DSM, Heerlen, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 45 578 8111, Web: www.dsm.com
Additives for Polymers
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retardants from the electronics industry, particularly for printed wiring board applications, he comments. The lower demand for flame retardants was cited as the chief cause of a $27 million reduction in sales volume for the Industrial Engineered Products segment in 4Q 2011. However, the segment still achieved a $3 million gain in net sales to $194 million due to higher selling prices and favourable foreign currency translation effects. On a GAAP basis, operating income increased by $17 million to $30 million as compared to the same period last year as 2010 was impacted by accelerated depreciation of property, plant and equipment. Industrial Performance Products’ net sales increased $7 million or 2% to $310 million driven principally by higher selling prices, offset by lower sales volume within the antioxidants and petroleum additives businesses. On a GAAP basis, operating income increased $8 million to $37 million compared to the same period last year as 2011 was impacted by accelerated recognition of asset retirement obligations, the company explains.
across all divisions contributed to this growth, BASF says. Volumes declined by 6%, particularly in the Paper Chemicals and Performance Chemicals divisions. EBIT before special items declined by 25% due to expenses related to the integration of Cognis and margin pressure due to intense competition, the company reports. Looking ahead, BASF says it is unlikely that results in the first half of 2012 will match the same high levels achieved in the first two quarters of 2011. However, it expects to surpass 2011 levels during the second half of the year.
Contact: Chemtura Corp, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Tel: +1 203 573 2000, Web: www.chemtura.com
O
BASF posts record sales in 2011 n 2011, BASF SE posted record sales of E73.5 billion, up 15% from 2010, with all regions contributing. Income from operations (EBIT) before special items improved by 4% to E8.4 billion and EBIT increased almost 11% to E8.6 billion, the company reports. Sales in 4Q 2011 at around E18.1 billion were higher than in 4Q 2010 and 3Q 2011, but the slowing of the economy over the course of the year was reflected in the EBIT before special items, which at E1.5 billion was 14% below 4Q 2010. Customers were more cautious in their ordering, reduced their inventories and put off orders in expectation that the economy would decline and prices could possibly soften, BASF observed. The Performance Products segment recorded a 28% increase in full-year sales to E15.7 billion. EBIT before special items reached E1.7 billion, an increase of 11%. For the fourth quarter, the segment posted a 19% rise in sales compared with the same quarter of 2010. The inclusion of the Cognis businesses and price increases
I
10
Additives for Polymers
Contact: BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. Tel: +49 621 60 0, Web: www.basf.com
Ferro reports full-year gains but fourth-quarter loss hio-based performance materials company Ferro Corp achieved net sales of US$2.16 billion for the year ended 31 December 2011, an increase of 2.6% compared with $2.10 billion in 2010. Net income was $31.5 million in 2011 compared with $5.0 million the previous year. The improvement was driven by significantly lower restructuring and impairment charges, reduced losses on extinguishment of debt and lower interest expense, partially offset by reduced gross profit and higher income tax expense. The company reports that sales increased in all segments except Electronic Materials, where reduced demand and excess inventories of solar power modules resulted in decreased demand for the company’s conductive metal pastes. Excluding the Electronic Materials segment, sales increased by 7.5% compared with 2010. During 2011, changes in product pricing and mix were the primary drivers of increased sales, accounting for ten percentage points of sales growth. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates contributed an additional two percentage points of sales growth, while lower sales volume reduced growth by nine percentage points. For the fourth quarter of 2011, Ferro posted net sales of $443 million, a decline of 18% from net sales of $537 million in 4Q 2010. The fall in sales was largely due to the weakness in the Electronic
May 2012
ENVIRONMENT
Materials segment; sales increased in the Performance Coatings, Polymer Additives, Specialty Plastics and Pharmaceuticals segments compared with 2010 quarter, while sales declined in the Color and Glass Performance Materials segment. The company recorded a net loss of $28.8 million for the three-month period, compared with net income of $1.8 million in 4Q 2010. The company’s Polymer Additives segment reported sales of $337 million in 2011, a rise of 11.4% from 2010 sales of $302 million. In 4Q 2011, segment sales were $74 million, up 4.6% on the $71 million reported for the same period in 2010. Segment income of $15 million for 2011 was down 17% compared to the previous year but 4Q income declined by some 90% year on year. Contact: Ferro Corp, Mayfield Heights, OH, USA. Tel: +1 216 875 5600, Web: www.ferro.com
ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES AkzoNobel and DSM launch BluCure™ cobalt-free curing technologies
D
utch chemicals and coatings company AkzoNobel and its compatriot DSM have officially launched the BluCure™ umbrella brand covering innovative cobalt-free resin curing technologies and products. At the recent JEC Composites show in Paris, the two companies also unveiled the BluCure quality seal, which offers the composites industry a way to distinguish products that are based on 100% cobaltfree BluCure technology. The novel curing solutions offer the market more sustainable alternatives to the conventional, cobalt-based
May 2012
systems currently in use, the partners say. BluCure products are either cobalt-free accelerators or cobaltfree pre-accelerated resins and meet strict criteria. The technology offers ‘opportunities for outstanding performance and sustainable end-user value’, both now and in the future, according to the two companies. Anticipating increasing environmental pressure on cobalt, AkzoNobel and DSM had been working independently for several years on the development of cobalt-free resin curing systems [see for example, ADPO, March 2011]. Both had successfully scaled up the technologies and filed a broad range of patents covering many types of accelerator systems and materials. In January this year, the two companies combined forces and signed a licence agreement on cobalt-free technologies for the curing of thermoset resins. The launch of the BluCure brand and quality seal is the outcome of this agreement and will bring ‘viable, leading-edge solutions to the whole composites industry’, according to Alain Rynwalt, sBU director marketing & sales XTP EMEA for AkzoNobel Functional Chemicals. ‘BluCure™ opens up access to leading-edge, cobalt-free curing technologies through sub-licensing, providing genuine alternatives to cobaltbased accelerator systems for all composite component and resin manufacturers’, adds Wilfrid Gambade, president of DSM Composite Resins. AkzoNobel and DSM report that discussions are ongoing with several resin manufacturers who are interested in partnering up with BluCure. Composite component manufacturers are now also invited to join in by obtaining a licence to use the BluCure Seal on their products, they say. More information on 100% cobaltfree curing can be found at www.BluCure.com. Contact: AkzoNobel Functional Chemicals, Amersfoort, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 33 467 6767, Web: www.akzonobel.com/polymer Or contact: DSM, Heerlen, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 45 578 8111, Web: www.dsm.com
Additives for Polymers
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