Momentive sales drop 21% for year

ERJ staff report (R&PN)

Albany New York-Momentive Performance Materials Inc. posted net sales of $2.08 billion for 2009, down 21.1 percent from 2008.

It posted a net loss of $41.8 million for the year, much less than the loss of $997.1 million for 2008.

Sales for its main silicones segment dropped 19.7 percent for the year to $1.91 billion, mainly because of the impact of the economic downturn.

President and CEO Jonathan Rich said despite the blows the company took from the global recession in 2009, Momentive was pleased with its fourth-quarter results, reporting $607 million is sales for the three-month period, compared with $545.3 million for the same period the year before.

He said the company continues to see improvement in daily order rates so far in the first quarter of 2010. He said it is focusing on expanding its specialty silicones business, tapping into emerging markets and keeping costs under control.

Operating income for 2009 was $40.3 million, versus operating loss of $836.6 million for 2008.

From Rubber & Plastics News (A Crain publication)