Abstract
EARNINGS AT 25 MAJOR CHEMICAL companies rose in t h e second quarter compared with the same period in 2002, but the increase was driven by just a few firms with big gains. T h e group's earnings from continuing operations, excluding significant nonrecurring items, rose 8.6% over the same period last year to $2.05 billion, as sales increased a greater 9.2% to $32.6 billion. The aggregate profit margin for the 25 firms remained unchanged at 6.3%. It is good to see an increase in earnings, but the underlying fundamentals are not so reassuring. For one thing, the increases in individual company results were not widespread. Of the 25,12 showed earnings improvements, 12 showed declines, and one—Praxair—was unchanged. The 12 firms with earnings growth in the second quarter include Hercules, which showed a loss in the same period last year but in this year's April to June period rose to seventh among the 25 ...
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