The improvement seen in 2010 looks set to continue. The first quarter results show a promising start to 2011 for the chemical industry.
(Figures reported in billion (b) or million (m) Euros. US based companies’ profits reported in $, conversion into EUR accurate as of 29/5/2011. Data from each company’s press release.)
Merck KGaA Q1/2011: Profit After Tax Jumps 77 % to EUR 344 Million
- Total revenues increase 22 % to EUR 2.6 billion
- Rebif® sales decline 4 % to EUR 411 million due to year-ago spike
- Erbitux® sales rise 9 % to EUR 209 million
- Group free cash flow totaled EUR 645 million
- 2011 guidance on Group operating result unchanged: +35 % to +45 %
Acquisitions — mainly Millipore — and divestments accounted for 16 percentage points of the increase while positive currency effects and organic growth were responsible for 3.2 percentage points and 3.1 percentage points, respectively.
“Merck generated a solid performance in the first quarter and we are off to a very good start for the year, mainly driven by the strength of our Performance Materials and Merck Millipore divisions,” said Dr. Karl-Ludwig Kley, Chairman of the Executive Board of Merck KGaA.
ExxonMobil: Second Quarter Highlights
- Earnings were $10,650 million, an increase of 69 % or $4,350 million from the first quarter of 2010.
- Earnings per share were $2.14, an increase of 61 %.
- Share purchases to reduce shares outstanding were $5 billion.
- Dividends per share of $0.44 increased by 5 % compared to the first quarter of 2010.
- Oil-equivalent production increased more than 10 % from the first quarter of 2010. Excluding the impacts of entitlement volumes, OPEC quota effects and divestments, production was up 12 %.
Upstream earnings were $8,675 million, up $2,861 million from the first quarter of 2010. Higher crude oil and natural gas realizations increased earnings by nearly $2.6 billion. Production mix and volume effects decreased earnings by $160 million, while asset management activity and lower expenses increased earnings by $470 million.
Exxonmobil’s chairman Rex W. Tillerson commented: “ExxonMobil’s earnings reflect continued leadership in operational performance during a period of strong commodity prices. Earnings were $10.7 billion, up 69% from the first quarter of 2010, reflecting higher crude oil and natural gas realizations, increased refining margins and record Chemical performance.”
DSM: Strong Q1 2011 continuing its positive momentum 
- Q1 EBITDA from continuing operations up 14 % to € 325 million
- Life Sciences results driven by ongoing good performance in Nutrition
- Materials Sciences posts solid results reflecting volume gains and pricing strength
- EPS € 0.91, 30 % higher also due to a lower tax rate
- Martek integration underway; EBITDA in line with expectations
- 2011 is expected to be a strong year for DSM towards achieving the 2013 targets
The macro-economic trend remained positive in Q1 2011. High growth economies, especially China, continued to be very strong, while growth in Western Europe and North America was moderate. In this environment DSM posted solid sales growth as a result of ongoing volume growth and pricing strength, thanks to DSM’s focus on innovation and its global customer base, excellent market positions and presence in high growth economies.
Commenting on the results, Feike Sijbesma, CEO/Chairman of the DSM Managing Board, said: “Our robust performance in Q1 2011 represents further progress towards our 2013 targets as we continue to successfully execute our strategy. This improvement can be attributed to our focus on innovation, our global customer base, excellent market positions and presence in high growth economies.
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Bayer off to a successful start to 2011
- Sales up by 13.2 % to EUR 9,415 million
- Operating result (EBIT) rises by 4.0 % to EUR 1,148 million
- EBITDA before special items advances by 22.3 % to EUR 2,232 million
- Group forecast raised – improvement expected at CropScience
Strong perfomance at CropScience. MaterialScience achieved significant growth compared with the prior-year quarter, which was still hampered by the financial and economic crisis, and HealthCare also posted a solid performance.
“All three subgroups contributed to the strong start to the year with sales and earnings increases,” explained Bayer CEO Dr. Marijn Dekkers. “We are raising our Group sales and earnings forecast for this year, mainly because of the improvement we expect at CropScience.”
Dow: First Quarter 2011 Highlights
- Earnings per share were $0.82 (or $0.54 on a reported basis).
- EBITDA rose more than $600 million to $2.4 billion, the second highest quarter in the Company’s history.
- Sales rose 20 % to $14.7 billion versus the year-ago period, with double-digit increases in all operating segments and all geographic areas.
- Health and Agricultural Sciences reported record sales of $1.6 billion in the quarter.
- The Company retired $2.5 billion of gross debt in the quarter, accretive to shareholders by reducing interest expense nearly $200 million on an annual basis going forward.
Health and Agricultural Sciences reached a new EBITDA record, while Performance Products and Chemicals and Energy each posted increases of greater than 50 %, and Coatings and Infrastructure rose more than 30 percent.
Andrew N. Liveris, Dow’s chairman and chief executive officer, stated: “This quarter’s performance showed once again that we remain firmly on our earnings growth trajectory. Our focus on execution was clear as we drove significant sales increases across all geographies and all operating segments through rigorous price and volume discipline. As a result, we achieved yet another quarter of margin expansion and delivered EBITDA growth of more than 30 %.”
