Abstract
FIRST-QUARTER company earnings show that the chemical industry is making lemonade out of the high energy costs and low U.S. demand that are characterizing 2008. Air Products & Chemicals, Cytec Industries, DuPont, and Mosaic all reported large increases in earnings and a boost in profit margins. While economists have been itemizing the causes and effects of the U.S. economic slowdown, many chemical companies raised prices and more than made up for higher energy and raw material costs. One was Cytec, which saw earnings growth of 40.8% over last year’s first quarter on an increase in sales of 12.7%. Not all firms were winners. Dow Chemical’s first-quarter earnings decreased 3.3%. The drop wasn’t as bad as the previous quarter’s 20.0% earnings fall, however, and CEO Andrew N. Liveris attributes the relative improvement to “broad-based pricing initiatives and growth in our performance businesses.” Dow’s sales rose 19.2%, thanks in part to growth in its AgroSciences business. ...
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
