Bayer's rubber, plastics units post loss for quarter

LEVERKUSEN, Germany (Nov. 11)—Bayer A.G.'s plastics and rubber businesses—to be spun off next year—were $57.5 million in the red in the third quarter on 11-percent lower sales of $1.35 billion. Bayer blamed the loss on high raw material costs and sustained pressure on prices from Asian competitors. The company said the sales decline resulted primarily on the weakness of the U.S. dollar and the divestment of PolymerLatex earlier this year; discounting these two factors left comparable sales 3.1 percent lower than a year earlier. For the nine months, plastics and rubber reported a $41 million loss on 8.1-percent lower sales of $4.17 billion. Bayer said part of the loss is attributable to a $14 million charge taken to cover the phase-out of butadiene rubber production at a plant in Marl, Germany. The rubber polymers business was off more than plastics, with sales down 13.8 and 11.5 percent for the quarter and nine months, respectively.