MOSCOW (MRC) -- German plastics and chemicals company Covestro said adjusted core earnings gained 22% in the first quarter as cheaper raw materials outweighed a decline in prices of its transparent polycarbonate plastics and foam chemicals, said Reuters.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), adjusted for special items, gained 22% to 508 million euros (USD570.94 million), also bolstered by a 30 million euro insurance reimbursement.
That was above the 437 million euros expected on average in a Reuters poll of analysts.
It said it still predicted a 2016 sales volume increase of a medium single-digit percentage at its main products and that free operating cash flow would be unchanged but remain above the average for previous years.
As MRC imformed earlier, from September 1, 2015, Bayer MaterialScience became known as Covestro. Bayer aims to float this business on the stock market by mid-2016 at the latest. The plans for the carve-out of Bayer MaterialScience were announced in September 2014.
Covestro (formerly Bayer MaterialScience) is an independent subgroup within Bayer. It was created as part of the restructuring of Bayer AG from the former business group Bayer Polymers, with certain of its activities being spun off to Lanxess AG. Covestro manufactures and develops materials such as coatings, adhesives and sealants, polycarbonates (CDs, DVDs), polyurethanes (automotive seating, insulation for refrigerating appliances) etc.
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