Coatings World - August 2011

$338.6 million in the fiscal 2010 fourth quarter while EBIT improved 1.8 percent to $53.6 million from $52.7 million.

DuPont Q2 profit down DuPont Performance Coatings’ income of $73 million in the second-quarter represented a slight decrease over the same prior year period as higher sales were offset by higher raw material, energy and freight costs. Sales of $1.1 billion in the performance coatings business unit were up 15 percent compared to the same period last year. The company noted 14 percent higher selling prices and a one percent increase in volume. Higher selling prices reflect pricing actions across all market segments to offset higher raw material costs along with a favorable currency impact. DuPont said strong demand continued in industrial coatings, particularly in North American heavy-duty truck markets.

Dow reports 2Q results

Dow Chemical’s coatings and infrastructure business unit sales were $1.6 billion in the second-quarter of 2011. Excluding the impact of divestitures, sales were up 14 percent, completely driven by price gains, the company said. Double-digit sales gains were reported in Dow Adhesives and Functional Polymers, Dow Building and Construction, and Dow Coating Materials. Volume growth in Dow Building and Construction and Dow Coating Materials continued to be restrained by soft demand from construction and architectural end-markets in developed regions.

Dow Adhesives and Functional Poly-
mers reported volume growth in all geo-
graphic areas, except EMEA, with the
largest gain in Asia Pacific. The business
also reported a double-digit increase in
price, reflecting actions taken in re-
sponse to high raw material costs. Dow
Building and Construction reported de-
mand growth across all geo-
graphic areas except North
America, where new construc-
tion starts remain significantly
depressed. The business reported a dou-
ble-digit volume gain in Asia Pacific,
driven primarily by demand in China.
Results for the business were partly im-
pacted by ongoing investment in Dow
Powerhouse solar shingles. Dow Coating
Materials reported price gains across all
geographic areas as the business re-
sponded to a sharp rise in raw materials
costs. In architectural coatings, volume
gains were reported in Latin America,
Asia Pacific and EMEA, while industry
conditions remained difficult in North
America. Industrial coatings volume fell
as a result of strong pricing initiatives to
offset higher raw material costs, particu-
larly in the epoxy chain. EBITDA for the
segment was $231 million, which com-
pares with EBITDA of $230 million in
the same period last year. CW