MUTTENZ, Switzerland – Specialty chemicals company Clariant announced sales of CHF 1.923 billion in the third quarter of 2012, up 3 percent compared to the previous-year period. In local currencies, sales were 3 percent lower.
At group level, volumes decreased 5 percent year-on-year. Although volume reductions affected most businesses, the Catalysis & Energy, Functional Materials, Industrial & Consumer Specialties, and Masterbatches Business Units performed solidly and are on track to achieve their full-year targets. The Oil & Mining Services Business Unit continued to grow in local currencies. Weakness in the electronics, coatings and increasingly in the automotive industries affected the Additives and Pigments Business Units. Leather Services, Textile Chemicals and Paper Specialties recovered from the low previous-year levels and posted robust single-digit sales growth in local currencies.