Chemical companies start 2022 strong

Abstract

First-quarter financial results are starting to come in from chemical makers, with Dow announcing its earnings and a few major German firms releasing preliminary figures. The companies are posting large increases in sales from a year earlier, but all have been laboring to maintain profitability in the wake of escalating energy and feedstock costs. Dow posted a 28% sales increase in the quarter versus the quarter a year earlier . Selling prices also increased 28%, while volumes climbed a more modest 3%. Net income, excluding unusual items, rose 70%. But profits at Dow’s largest business, packaging and specialty plastics, remained flat versus the year-earlier quarter , and the business’s before-tax profit margin fell from 20% to 16% as a consequence of rising energy costs. Profitability expanded in Dow’s intermediates and coating materials segments because of strong demand and higher selling prices. “We capitalized on end-market demand strength across the breadth