BOSTON—Cabot Corp. said its net sales increased 4 percent in the third quarter of 2014, from $901 million to $940 million over the same period in 2013, while its net income dropped over the same quarter, dropping to $52 million in 2014 from $59 million in 2013, or 12 percent.
Over the nine-month period, Cabot reported stronger net sales of $2.7 billion, compared to $2.6 billion over the same fiscal 2013 period.
The company reported its reinforcement materials quarterly EBIT increased 24 percent year-over-year, performance materials quarterly EBIT increased 17 percent year-over-year, and it strengthened its balance sheet through repayment of $256 million of debt during the quarter.
Cabot said it continued with a strong fiscal 2014 performance with year-to-date adjusted EPS at 20 percent higher than year-to-date fiscal 2013.
“We achieved another strong quarter of business performance. Volumes increased as compared to the prior year quarter in both the Reinforcement Materials and Performance Materials segments as demand in our key end markets improved, most notably in China, and we commercialized new capacity and new products,” said Patrick Prevost, Cabot president and CEO.
Looking forward, Prevost said the company has seen the global economic environment improved in the developed world and in China, but still seeing weakness in South America.
“We believe that we should experience moderate demand growth through the remainder of 2014 and into 2015,” he added.
“We expect to benefit from this growth and we are well positioned with our global capacity to capture it.”
In the purification solutions segment, Prevost said Cabot is nearing the implementation of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) regulation. “The regulation is scheduled to take effect in April 2015, which will drive significant growth in the North American activated carbon market,” he said.