Abstract
So, the chemical industry had three straight quarters of earnings growth. Following a modest increase in the final three months of 1999, this year it looked as if the industry was finally getting on a growth track with double-digit earnings increases in the first two reporting periods. Then came the third quarter with its tightening oil supplies that drove up energy and feedstock costs. The result was another quarter of declining earnings from the year-earlier quarter for many of the 25 major chemical companies regularly surveyed by C&EN. Earnings from continuing operations, excluding significant nonrecurring and extraordinary items for the group, fell an aggregate 7% to $1.65 billion despite a very good increase in sales of 8% to $26.9 billion. With the huge disparity between sales growth and earnings decline, profitability plummeted. The aggregate profit margin for the 25 chemical firms was 6.1% in the third quarter, down from 7.1% for the same period in ...
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