Quarterly Results Operationally on track, S
Quarterly Results Operationally on track, S
Quarterly Results Operationally on track, S
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Clariant Internati<strong>on</strong>al Ltd<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>Quarterly</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Results</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
31 October 2011<br />
Page 10 of 14<br />
BU Leather Services<br />
Third quarter Nine M<strong>on</strong>ths<br />
in CHF milli<strong>on</strong> 2011 2010 % CHF % LC 2011 2010 % CHF % LC<br />
Sales 63 76 -17 -1 208 251 -17 -3<br />
EBITDA before excepti<strong>on</strong>al items 6 10 -40 -28 22 34 -35 -25<br />
- margin 9.5% 13.2% 10.6% 13.5%<br />
EBIT before excepti<strong>on</strong>al items 5 9 -44 -31 19 30 -37 -28<br />
- margin 7.9% 11.8% 9.1% 12.0%<br />
EBIT 5 9 -44 -31 19 34 -44 -37<br />
Leather Services sales declined 1% in local currencies and 17% in Swiss francs compared to the<br />
previous-year period. Demand from the automotive and luxury goods industry remained robust.<br />
However, in the upholstery sector the trend for using alternative materials instead of leather<br />
c<strong>on</strong>tinued as raw hide costs remained high.<br />
From a regi<strong>on</strong>al standpoint, sales growth in local currencies was robust in Europe and slightly<br />
reduced in the Americas despite str<strong>on</strong>g growth in the main market, i.e. Brazil. Sales in Asia were<br />
down, still suffering from high raw hide prices. Sales to tanneries working for the Japanese<br />
automotive sector have recovered to close to pre-earthquake levels. Leather Services was<br />
successful in increasing sales prices and was able to compensate for higher raw material costs.<br />
However, the Business Unit c<strong>on</strong>tinues to be affected by adverse currency effects and lower<br />
volumes due to the impact of high raw hide prices. As a c<strong>on</strong>sequence, the EBITDA margin<br />
declined compared to the previous year’s level. For the fourth quarter, Leather Services expects<br />
demand to stabilize and a less negative impact from currency.<br />
The Business Unit will c<strong>on</strong>tinue to focus <strong>on</strong> high value segments and <strong>on</strong> the introducti<strong>on</strong> of new<br />
services and value-added products such as the new chromium-free tanning technology (Easy<br />
WhiteTan). In the future, Leather Service will focus its innovati<strong>on</strong> activities and broaden its<br />
product offering in this range of ecofriendly products in particular.