Lanxess say that sales from synthetic rubber and high-tech plastics were the best performing product activities, particularly in emerging markets (especially Latin America and the BRIC nations), however, the Leather Business Unit also performed well.
Leather, which is part of the Performance Chemicals segment, saw sales grow by 21% year-on-year to achieve euro 515 million in the third quarter. In a company financial statement Lanxess highlight that the Leather, Rubber Chemicals and Functional Chemicals units performed particularly well.
For the business year 2010, Lanxess is targeting EBITDA pre exceptionals of roughly euro 900 million, which is nearly double the earnings result achieved in 2009. As a result of the strong performance expected in 2010, the Board of Management has decided to make a one-off payment to employees totalling euro 20 million.
Axel C Heitmann, Chairman, Lanxess said that he expected growth to continue in the fourth quarter particularly in the tyre and automotive sectors.
