BEACHWOOD, Ohio—Synthetic rubber and performance chemicals producer Omnova Solutions Inc. is showing continued improvements in its financial results.
Earnings for Omnova per diluted share were $0.08 for the first quarter of 2017, compared with a loss of $0.03 for the same quarter last year, the company said.
Omnova's net sales in the first quarter were $174.6 million, down slightly from $175.3 million in 2016's first quarter, the company said. Gross profit was $43.9 million compared with $44.3 million the year before, it said.
Segment operating profit for the quarter was $14.2 million, up from $10.4 million last year, Omnova said. Adjusted segment operating profit rose 3.5 percent to $14.8 million.
"This was Performance Chemicals' eighth consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement in adjusted segment operating profit," the company said in its March 29 press release.
"During the quarter, we took a number of steps to continue driving profitable growth," said Omnova President and CEO Anne Noonan.
"We began to implement our 'One Omnova' support organization, designed to increase our ability to respond quickly and efficiently to market opportunities," Noonan said. Omnova anticipates annual savings of approximately $3 million once the program is fully implemented by the end of its second quarter, she said.
The divestiture of a non-strategic, break-even operation in India in February 2016 was the primary cause of an overall sales decline of $3.7 million, Omnova said.