AVON LAKE, Ohio—Avient Corp.'s 2021 comeback continued in the third quarter, with the materials supplier again posting strong financial results.
Sales at Avon Lake, Ohio-based Avient were up 32 percent to $1.22 billion versus the third quarter of 2020. The firm's quarterly profit also surged to $52.6 million—more than 20 times its third-quarter profit last year.
For the first nine months of 2021, Avient's sales were up almost 61 percent versus the year-ago period to $3.62 billion, as its nine-month profit more than tripled to $201.7 million. Avient is a global maker of compounds and color concentrates and a major North American resin distributor.
"We have achieved significant growth in sustainable solutions, health care and composites in 2021," Robert Patterson, chairman, president and CEO, said in an Oct. 28 news release. "Add on nearly $50 million in synergies from the Clariant color business integration, and we are having a record year."
Patterson added that 2021 "has been one of the most challenging years we have experienced as a result of navigating the COVID pandemic and an unprecedented combination of inflation, supply chain disruptions, and labor shortages.
"I'm very proud of our performance and our associates who continue to take care of each other and our customers," he said.
Third-quarter sales in Avient's Color, Additives & Inks unit grew almost 19 percent to $586.6 million, with operating profit up 22 percent to $93.4 million. The firm's Specialty Engineered Materials unit saw sales growth of almost 34 percent to $233.6 million and operating profit growth of almost 22 percent to $39.6 million.
At Avient's Distribution unit, third-quarter sales were up almost 59 percent to $438.8 million, with operating profit up almost 36 percent to $24 million.
On Wall Street, Avient's per-share price began 2021 at around $39.50 but closed at $55 on Oct. 28 for an increase of 39 percent.
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