LEVERKUSEN, Germany - Materials manufacturer Covestro delivered the strongest quarter in the company's history in the third quarter of 2017 as the positive trend of the first six months carried on. At €491 million, net income was up 89.6% on the prior-year quarter. At the same time, EBITDA was 50.2% higher, and sales rose 16.9% over the same period the previous year. Core volumes increased 2.6%. The boost in sales was primarily due to higher selling prices, mainly in the Polyurethanes segment, with a positive effect of 18.4%. Free operating cash flow (FOCF) amounted to €658 million, up 1.9% over the prior-year quarter. Based on these strong results, Covestro decided to review its announced target to deliver €5 billion of cumulative FOCF until year-end 2021. However, on group level, the company reiterates its guidance for the full year 2017.
This performance is attributable to ongoing robust demand in the company's main customer industries and positive margin performance, also mainly in the Polyurethanes segment.