Kraton reports record sales volumes in Q1

ERJ staff report (DS)

Houston, Texas - Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc. has reported higher sales and higher volumes but lower profits for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

Sales volume was a record 90 kilotons, an increase of 10 percent compared to the first quarter 2011. Sales revenues increased 18 percent year-on-year to $408 million. Net income was $16 million in the first quarter 2012, compared to net income of $22 million in the first quarter 2011. The company blamed higher butadiene costs for the profit fall.

"During the first quarter 2012, prices for feedstocks such as butadiene increased rapidly from the December 2011 lows, marking the end of the customer destocking that prevailed in the second half of 2011 and driving demand, particularly in our paving and roofing end use, as customers built inventory in advance of the summer paving season. As a result, first quarter sales volumes were a record 90 kilotons," said Kevin M. Fogarty, Kraton's President and Chief Executive Officer.

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Press release from Kraton