LONDON May 11-LANXESS swung to a net profit of ?04m ($133m) in the first quarter of 2010 from a loss of ?4m in the same period last year as its synthetic rubber business benefited from strong demand in China and Brazil, the specialty chemicals company said on Tuesday.
Sales increased 53% year-on-year to ?.61bn due to a strong pick-up in volumes, while higher raw material prices were fully passed on to customers through product price increases, the company said.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), excluding exceptional items, more than tripled to ?33m in the first quarter of 2010, it added.
Our key figures clearly reflect that LANXESS has emerged strengthened from the crisis, said the company s chairman, Axel Heitmann. Our strategy to focus on growth opportunities in the BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India and China] countries and to be tough on costs has proven to be exactly the right one.
Net debt at the end of the first quarter to ?51m from ?94m at the end of 2009 due to an increase in net working capital, LANXESS said.
We have got the year off to a good start and assuming the positive economic trend will continue, we are targeting EBITDA pre exceptionals of ?50-700m for the full year 2010, said CEO Heitmann.
Nevertheless, Heitmann cautioned the potential for setbacks remained due to volatile raw material prices, monetary instability in the Euro zone and the end of government-backed stimulus packages.
($1 = ?.78)
Sales increased 53% year-on-year to ?.61bn due to a strong pick-up in volumes, while higher raw material prices were fully passed on to customers through product price increases, the company said.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), excluding exceptional items, more than tripled to ?33m in the first quarter of 2010, it added.
Our key figures clearly reflect that LANXESS has emerged strengthened from the crisis, said the company s chairman, Axel Heitmann. Our strategy to focus on growth opportunities in the BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India and China] countries and to be tough on costs has proven to be exactly the right one.
Net debt at the end of the first quarter to ?51m from ?94m at the end of 2009 due to an increase in net working capital, LANXESS said.
We have got the year off to a good start and assuming the positive economic trend will continue, we are targeting EBITDA pre exceptionals of ?50-700m for the full year 2010, said CEO Heitmann.
Nevertheless, Heitmann cautioned the potential for setbacks remained due to volatile raw material prices, monetary instability in the Euro zone and the end of government-backed stimulus packages.
($1 = ?.78)
