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First-quarter results of two late-reporting German chemical companies--Degussa and Celanese--confirm the cautious optimism evoked earlier by Bayer and BASF. And that's despite their coming from the specialty and commodity ends, respectively, of the chemical industry spectrum. At Degussa, earnings from continuing operations were down 54% to $31 million. But excluding exceptional 2001 first-quarter gains, earnings actually rose 21%. Total sales were $2.7 billion, down 2% from first-quarter 2001. That figure reflects the sale of some noncore activities early this year. Degussa officials saw "no fundamental improvement in economic conditions in the first quarter of 2002." The company said it still assumes that the economy will only start to recover in the second half. It expects the U.S. will be the driving force, with slow growth in Europe. Meanwhile, at Celanese, earnings from continuing operations were $24 million, the same as in first-quarter 2001. Sales for the quarter were $1.07 billion, down 11% from 2001. But Chairman Claudio Sonder noted that sales were 4% higher than in the fourth quarter of 2001, reflecting quarter-to-quarter improvement in most of the firm's businesses. Page: 1 | Previous Page |
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