Belgian chemicals and plastics maker Solvay aims at making more savings of up to EUR 120 million (USD 152.4 million) and said that profit should improve in 2010 due to industry-wide recovery.
The com…
Belgian chemicals and plastics maker Solvay aims at making more savings of up to EUR 120 million (USD 152.4 million) and said that profit should improve in 2010 due to industry-wide recovery. The company posted first-quarter recurring earnings before interest and tax (REBIT) from its chemicals and plastics operations of EUR 115 million, an increase of 80% and matching the average forecast. According to Solvay, sales grew significantly in specialities clusters and pointed to global economic improvement, particularly in Asia. The company added that if rising demand continued in 2010, the chemicals business should report REBIT over 2010 in line with 2009, despite price declines. In February Solvay warned that market conditions remained challenging, and that it would target an additional EUR 120 million in cost savings by 2012 and take one-off costs of at least one time the annual savings. The extent of cost cuts already taken were not fully specified, but Solvay has cut more than 2,100 jobs in the 2007-09 period, besides closing plants, chief executive Christian Jourquin said. Solvay completed the sale of its drugs unit to US partner Abbott Laboratories in February, booking a EUR 1.7 billion gain. “Solvay deserves your trust,” Alois Michielsen, chairman of the board of directors, said at the company“s annual shareholders meeting, adding the board was “working diligently” to successfully reinvest the money and make a decision essential to Solvay“s corporate future.