Yule Catto beats forecasts with high sales
BRITISH chemicals maker Yule Catto said yesterday that first-quarter earnings were well ahead of the same period last year, excluding acquisitions, on strong demand for its polymer products.
The company, whose chemicals are used by the adhesive, textile, paper and pharma businesses, also reiterated its expectations for the 2011.
In March, Yule Catto said it made a solid start to the year, adding it was confident about its prospects.
The company said profit from its polymer business was flat year-on-year in the first-quarter despite higher volumes and turnover.
“Whilst Europe lagged the prior year, Asia was ahead, despite, as expected, profits being temporarily constrained by capacity during the quarter,” the company said in a statement.
However, Yule Catto, whose net debt at the end of the quarter stood at £235m, said it expected this to be resolved in the second-quarter.
Shares in FTSE 250-listed Yule Catto, which have gained almost three-quarters of their value in the last year, closed down 0.5 per cent at 210.5p yesterday.