All of our business units contributed to the 6 percent increase in revenue. Volumes in the quarter were slightly down, but year-to-date are still 2 percent ahead of last year. The strength in manufacturing and industrial production, particularly in Asia and North America, resulted in stable demand across most of our business lines, with some exceptions where we see decreased demand and uncertainty in ordering patterns. The demand in the residential construction related businesses remained weak. The escalation of input costs (largely driven by petrochemical derivatives and energy), combined with negative currency effects and a less favorable supply and demand balance, have lowered our average margins. However, in most of our businesses these input costs stabilized throughout the course of the third quarter. We regained part of the lost margins in the second part of the quarter due to price increases. Our focus remains on margin management, market share and cost optimization. Cost control measures are in place and additional EBITDA improvements have been developed. In July, we announced the intention to further strengthen our leadership position in specialty surfactants by acquiring Boxing Oleochemicals. Boxing is the leading supplier of nitrile amines and derivatives in China and throughout Asia.
|
 |
Tools:
