10Additives for Polymers December 2008

Contact:Cytec Industries Inc, West Paterson, NJ, USA.

Tel: +1 973 357 3100, Web: www.cytec.com

Polymer additives continue to boost 3Q sales for Albemarle

Louisiana-based Albemarle Corp posted net sales of US$660.5 million for the third quar-

ter of 2008, up 13% year on year from $584.0 million in 3Q 007, and up 6% sequentially. Quarterly sales by the Polymer Additives seg-ment were at record levels of $261.7 million, up 12% from $232.7 million in 3Q 2007 supported by strong brominated flame retardant volumes.

Net income for 3Q 2008 was $56.2 million, down 5% compared with $59.1 million in the same three-month period of 2007. Operating prof-it was $76.9 million for the quarter as strong per-formance in the company’s Fine Chemicals busi-ness segment and reductions in corporate expenses were partially offset by declines in the Catalysts and Polymer Additives business segments. Albemarle estimates the impact of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike at approximately $11 million pre-tax.

Polymer Additives’ record net sales for 3Q 2008 were primarily the result of higher sales of flame retardants due to the positive effects of higher volumes and favourable foreign currency exchange rates. Segment income for 3Q 2008 declined 7% from 3Q 2007 to $27.4 million due primarily to higher raw material costs, partially offset by improved brominated flame retardant product vol-umes and improved phosphorus flame retardant product pricing and mix. Weak consumer spend-ing and continued softness in the automotive and construction sectors continues to weigh negatively on demand for certain of the company’s Polymer Additives products. Efforts in this segment to con-solidate operations and introduce new products to the market should help moderate the ongoing impact of weak markets, the company says.

In other news, subsidiary Albemarle Chemicals SAS has initiated a consultation process with the relevant works council relating to the potential

divestiture of its plant in Port-de-Bouc, France, to International Chemical Investors (ICIG), a German group headquartered in Frankfurt. Under the proposed terms, ICIG would acquire part of the on-going business relating to fine chemical and other brominated products owned by Albemarle Chemicals SAS (to the exclusion of the flame retardant business and the bromine fine chemicals business), as well as all the land, buildings and equipment at the plant. In addition, ICIG would toll manufacture Pyrochek and certain bromine fine chemicals for Albemarle. The Port-de-Bouc facility currently employs 112 staff.

Contact:Albemarle Corp, Baton Rouge, LA, USA. Tel: +1 225 388 7402,

Web: www.albemarle.com

AkzoNobel delivers ‘resilient’ performance in third quarter

AkzoNobel reported a 3% revenue increase for the third quarter of 2008, up from

�3.715 billion on a pro forma basis in 3Q 2007 to �3.82 billion this year. This represents an 8% increase at constant currencies. All business areas delivered resilient EBITDA performance, the company says, although net income was down 23% to �157 million as a result of one-off items including incidental charges totalling �79 million before tax.

On a pro forma basis, sales by the Specialty Chemicals business grew 5% versus 3Q 2007, with pricing increases contributing a 12% increase and acquisitions 1%, partially offset by declines of 3% in volume and 5% due to currency effects. Although 3Q performance for the business as a whole was in line with the previous year’s result, the company reports a shortfall from the Polymer Chemicals business compared to 3Q 2007. The EBITDA margin continued to be strong at more than 16%.

The company’s three business areas all achieved underlying growth, ‘solid proof of the strong positions it holds in diverse, highly attractive pre-dominantly low-cyclical, sectors with good growth

FINANCIALS

December 2008 Additives for Polymers11

potential’, according to AkzoNobel’s CFO Keith Nichols. It is also evidence of management actions taken to date to improve operational performance and to deliver the synergies from the ICI acquisi-tion, he says.

The company recently announced a series of measures to further improve its operational effec-tiveness and achieve an EBITDA margin of at least 14% by the end of 2011. These comprise organic growth and selective acquisitions; achieving all ICI synergies by 2010, ahead of the original target; driving margin management programmes across the company, improving pricing and procurement; rigorous cost management at both corporate and business level, leading to at least an additional �100 million in net cost savings. The ICI syner-gies, combined with these additional net cost sav-ings, will result in a total reduction of 3500 jobs by 2011, AkzoNobel says.

Contact:AkzoNobel nv, Strawinskylaan 2555, 1077 ZZ Amsterdam,

The Netherlands. Tel: +31 20 502 7555, Fax: +31 20 502 7666,

Email: info@akzonobel.com, Web: www.akzonobel.com

LITERATURE

New book examines advances in fire retardant materials

Published in the UK by Woodhead Publishing Ltd, Advances in Fire Retardant Materials

edited by Richard Horrocks and Dennis Price provides a comprehensive account of the advances that have occurred in fire science in relation to a broad range of materials. The book is an updated addition to the authors’ previous joint publication, the technical textbook Fire Retardant Materials published in 2001, and will

be ‘an essential reference for producers, manufacturers, retailers and all those wishing to improve fire retardancy in materials’, the publisher says.

The manufacture of fire retardant materials is an active area of research, the understanding of which can improve safety, as well as the marketability of a product. Part 1 of the new book reviews the advances that have occurred in improving the fire retardancy of specific materials, ranging from developments in phosphorus and halogen-free flame retardants to the use of nanocomposites as novel flame retardant systems. It includes a short overview of the fundamentals of fire hazards and risks. Key environmental issues are also addressed. In Part 2 fire-testing issues and regulations are examined, and recent advances of fire retardancy in specific materials are reviewed. The third part addresses the application of fire retardant materials in such areas as composites, automotive materials, military fabrics and aviation materials.

The editors are both scientists at the Centre for Materials Research and Innovation at the University of Bolton in the UK, where Horrocks is Professor of Textile Science and Price Professor of Fire Chemistry. In addition to editing the vol-ume, Horrocks and Price have also contributed to writing chapters in the book. Their fellow authors include other internationally recognized subject-specialists from across the world. Describing the book as ‘a comprehensive account of how fire retardancy has moved on during the 21st century’, Horrocks says they see it as being as relevant to researchers and technologists in industry as it is for those in academia.

Advances in Fire Retardant Materials (ISBN-10: 1845692624) has 632 pages and is available in hardcover format priced at £170.

Contact: Woodhead Publishing Ltd, Abington, Cambridge, UK.

Tel: +44 1223 891 358, Web: www.woodheadpublishing.com

LITERATURE