Elementis estimates earnings beat

1st Nov 2010 07:42

Elementis expects to make more money than expected this year as a swell of activity in the oil and gas sector helped the speciality chemicals supplier lift sales by 11% in the third quarter.An increase in shale gas drilling in North America was behind a surge in sales to the oilfield sector where volumes were up 84% on last year. There was also a big increase in personal care, with sales 55% higher than a year ago, or 17% excluding December's Fancor acquisition.Sales volumes of coatings additives rose 8% in Asia Pacific, though average sales volumes for coatings were down 7% on the first half, in line with normal seasonal trends. Operating margins in the three months are higher than for the first six months of the year as the specialty products business continued to expand its overall operating margin due to selective price increases and product mix optimisation. "Earnings for the full year are expected to be ahead of market expectations," the firm said.