Crompton EPDM sales up 27 percent

By Patrick Raleigh, ERJ On-line news editor

Middlebury, Connecticut-Crompton Corp. has achieved a 27-percent increase in sales of EPDM rubber, mainly as a result of higher unit volume, the Middlebury-based group announced 27 April.

Crompton did not issue details of its earnings on EPDM, which is positioned alongside its more profitable urethane prepolymers business within a Polymers reporting segment. The volume gains are in part due to DSM's recent exit from EPDM manufacture in North America.

Overall, Crompton's Polymers business recorded a 19-percent year-on-year sales rise to $81.2 million. The increase, it said, reflected higher unit volumes and a favourable foreign currency translation.

Operating profit in Polymers rose 10 percent to $10.2 million as increased unit volumes and cost saving initiatives offset higher raw material and energy costs, Crompton said.

Elsewhere, Crompton posted a 2-percent rise in sales of rubber additives-antioxidants, antiozonants, accelerators, foaming agents, waxes-despite lower selling prices. The net increase was mainly due primarily to higher unit volume and favourable foreign currency translation, the group said.