09.09.2011

Aceto Q4 Earnings Declines On Higher Costs

Aceto Corporation, a provider of Pharmaceutical intermediates and specialty chemicals, announced a decline in fourth quarter on higher expenses, notwithstanding the growth in revenues. Lake Success, New York - based company recorded a net income of $3.5 million, or $0.13 per share, while its prior year profit was $4.2 million or $0.17 per share in the prior year. more17.03.2011

Motor Oil Returns to Profit in Q4, Beats Forecast

Greece's second-biggest refiner Motor Oil said it swung to a fourth-quarter profit, beating analysts' forecasts, helped by higher output, exports and a one-off capital gain. Net income was €64 million ($89.25 million), compared with a forecast for a 32.7 million profit in a Reuters poll and after a net loss of 17.5 million a year earlier. A new distillation unit, which started operations in May, helped production volume rise 29% to 2.44 million metric tons, the company said on Wednesday. more18.03.2010

Lanxess Confident After Strong Final Quarter 2009

Specialty chemicals group Lanxess said it is confident for the business year 2010 after ending 2009 with a strong final quarter. The company said its optimism is supported by the continuous positive development of the Asia/Pacific region as well as savings generated from group-wide "Challenge09-12" package of measures.
"We therefore expect a significant year-on-year improvement in earnings, even if there is currently no sign of a self-sustaining upswing," said Axel C. Heitmann, Lanxess chairman of the board, said. more10.03.2010

Hexion Q4 Net Loss Narrows; Sales Drop

Privately held Hexion Specialty Chemicals said its fourth-quarter net loss narrowed sharply, helped in part by falling costs and improving volume. For the period, the company posted a net loss of $6 million compared with $921 million in the year-ago period. The year-ago period includes a one-time charge of $800 million the company paid to Huntsman as part of a settlement to cancel its plans to acquire that company. Hexion said its asset impairment costs and business realignment costs fell during the period. Revenue decreased 7.6% to $1.09 billion. more25.02.2010

BASF Beats Analyst Expectations

Chemical heavyweight BASF's Q4 2009 operating profit beat out analysts' expectations at €1.48 billion. At the same time last year, the company found itself in the thick of the recession and had posted an operating profit of €526 million. BASF reported that demand began to recover over the course of 2009, particularly in Asia. The company said it was able to adjust capacities and increase efficiency, thus stabilizing and improving earnings over the four quarters in 2009. more24.02.2010

DSM Reports Solid Q4, Strong Cash Generation

In the fourth quarter of 2009, DSM reported that its businesses continued to experience developments at two different speeds. Growth in most emerging markets - especially China - is back at the level before the economic downturn, while growth in Europe and North America is still modest and fragile, although market conditions are clearly better than at the beginning of 2009. The company said that its Q4 results were "in line with the previous quarter." more23.02.2010

Merck KGaA Revenues Up; Outlook Positive for 2010

German Merck KGaA's total group revenues in 2009 were up 2.1% to € 7,747 million. A strong performance in the company's Pharmaceuticals sector - 6.5% increase in revenues - served to offset a 9% decline in Chemicals. Merck recorded a 5.9% increase in total revenues to € 2,029 million in Q4 2009. more22.02.2010

Huntsman Releases Q4 Numbers, Sees Improving Global Demand

Texas-based chemical company Huntsman has reported Q4 revenues at $2,096 million, an increase of 2% compared to $2,048 million for the same period in 2008 and a decrease of 1% compared to $2,108 million for the Q3. Net income for the fourth quarter was $66 million, an 89% decline year-over-year, and $114 million for the full year, an 81.3% decline from 2008. more18.02.2010

Akzo Nobel Sees Increase in Q4 Operating Profit

Akzo Nobel has reported a 10% drop in revenue in 2009 to €13,893 million. However, the company is looking at a smaller net loss for Q4 2009 (€60 million) over the same period a year ago (€1.51 billion). The company has also reported a 7% decrease in Q4 sales. Q4 operating profit was up by 4%. more18.02.2010

ABB Reports a Strong Q4

ABB has reported earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of almost $800 million in the quarter, despite approximately $350 million in restructuring-related charges. Full-year profitability was well within the company's EBIT margin target range of 11-16%  on a combination of rapid cost take-out and solid operational execution. more