Speciality chemicals supplier Elementis reported better than expected half year profit and it expects to make progress throughout the rest of the year."We experienced higher volumes in all key markets and all regions due to better underlying economic conditions and market share gains," said chief executive David Dutro. Pretax profit rose to $46.2m in the half year ended 30 June compared with $3.2m the same time last year. Analysts had forecast profit of around $24m. Revenue surged 41% to $358m."These results, combined with our strength in emerging markets and a robust order book give us confidence in our ability to make further progress as we head into the second half of the year and over the longer term," the group said in a statement.