Kraton suffers 79 percent drop in 2nd quarter net income

Houston, Texas - Kraton Polymers LLC posted a 79 percent plunge in second-quarter net income as price increases failed to catch up to raw material costs and a restructure cut into margins.

The performance polymer producer - the world's largest maker of elastomer-based styrenic block copolymers (SBC) - saw the quarter's net income fall to $3.4 million (€2.6 million) from $16.2 million in the second quarter of last year.

Kraton's first-half net income fell by 53 percent to $9.9 million, compared to $21.2 million last year.

Revenue grew by six percent to $285.3 million for the quarter and eight percent to $514.7 million for the half.

The company expected benefits from a global restructure, including a new logo and brand identity, of between $8 million and $11 million annually.

''Kraton is responding to the increased cost of monomers by raising prices, driving increases in productivity, and improving service to our customers,'' Kraton president and chief executive George Gregory said.

''We also continue to make investments toward satisfying our long-term commitment to our customers of delivering the highest quality products, bringing them exciting new innovations, and making capacity available for their growth worldwide.

''Our many recent successes in these areas and plans for more to come give us confidence for the future.''