Cabot sees 30% rise in reinforcement materials earnings

Boston, Massachusetts – Cabot Corp.’s Reinforcement Materials segment, which produces rubber carbon black among other products, has seen a sharp increase in first quarter earnings.

For the quarter ended 31 Dec 2023, the segment reported a 31% year-on-year increase in earnings (EBITDA) to $146 million (€135 million), on a marginal drop in sales to $641 million.

EBIT rose by 37% to $129 million, mainly driven by “improved unit margins from higher pricing and improved product mix” in calendar year 2023 customer agreements.

Furthermore, Cabot said a 2% increase in global volumes, reflecting growth in Asia and Europe, helped improve EBIT.

The carbon black supplier said it expected EBIT to sequentially improve in the second quarter on improved pricing and product mix and a ‘modest’ increase in volume.