HOUSTON—Kraton Performance Polymers has reported a 4.8 percent decline in revenue in its 2014 financial year results that ended Dec. 31.
Revenue was down to $1,230 million from $1,292 million in 2013, said the report, adding that currency factors negatively impacted results. The company attributed a major part of the decline to “lower average selling prices with lower average raw material costs.”
Sales volume also declined 2.5 percent from 313,500 tons in 2013 to 305,600 tons.
According to Kraton, Cariflex polyisoprene products, which are used as alternative to natural rubber for applications that demand extreme purity, saw a significant 19.5 percent rise in revenue, increasing from $116 million in 2013 to $138.6 million in 2014.
Kraton's specialty polymers revenue was on a par with the previous year at $412.4 million.
The performance products business was hit by an 11 percent decline, down to $678.9 million from $762.9 million in 2013.
Kraton attributed the decline to a 6.2 percent reduction in sales volumes and, to a lesser extent, lower average selling prices driven by lower butadiene and isoprene costs.
“The decline in sales volume was primarily due to lower paving and roofing volumes in Europe, lower paving volumes in Asia Pacific and lower volumes into packaging and industrial adhesives applications,” the company said announcement.
In 2014, Kraton realigned its sales and marketing organization structured around three product groups: Performance Products, comprised of our unhydrogenated styrenic block copolymers (USBCs); Specialty Polymers, comprised of hydrogenated styrenic block copolymers (HSBCs); and Cariflex, comprised of isoprene rubber (IR) and isoprene rubber latex (IRL).
The company believes the alignment along product groups will improve collaboration between its sales and marketing and research and technical service departments.