Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 2782V

Elementis PLC

01 November 2010

 



1 November 2010

Interim Management Statement

Elementis plc, a global specialty chemicals company and member of the FTSE 250 index, today issues its Interim Management Statement for the period since 1 July 2010 in relation to the Company and its subsidiaries ("the Group").

Specialty Products' sales volumes for the third quarter of 2010 were 11 per cent higher than for the same period last year.

·    Sales to the oilfield sector continued to show a strong positive trend largely due to the increase in shale gas drilling in North America. Volumes were 84 per cent higher than the same period last year.

·    Sales volumes in personal care were 55 per cent higher than last year, or 17 per cent higher excluding the Fancor acquisition that was concluded in December 2009. Following the acquisition of Fancor the personal care team has been able to leverage the expanded product range and service offering to enhance the sector focus, which has helped drive the continued growth in volumes.

·    In Asia Pacific, sales volumes of coatings additives increased by 8 per cent compared to the previous year as the region continued to experience strong growth in higher value differentiated products.

·    Compared to the first half of 2010, average sales volumes for coatings were 7 per cent lower, which is in line with normal seasonal trends.  

·    The Specialty Products business has continued to expand its overall operating margin due to selective price increases and product mix optimisation. Consequently, operating margins for the third quarter of 2010 are higher than for the first six months of the year.

In Chromium, the business has continued to experience high capacity utilisation as overall customer demand has remained positive. This has allowed the business to progressively allocate more product to higher margin applications which, together with price increases implemented in the third quarter, has also led to an improvement in operating margins versus the first half of 2010.

As a result of the progress outlined above, earnings for the full year are expected to be ahead of market expectations.

Net debt has continued to decline since 30 June 2010; otherwise there has been no material change in the Group's financial position, which remains strong.

Enquiries:

Elementis plc             Brian Taylorson Finance Director		Tel: [phone]
Financial Dynamics     Greg Quine		Tel: [phone]

 

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