BOSTON—Cabot Corp.'s reinforcement materials business unit, which includes rubber carbon blacks, has reported a 2.7 percent year-on-year decline in third quarter earnings (EBIT) at $72 million.
The company's financial statement, released Aug. 5, attributed much of the decline to lower margins in China and the global automotive slowdown.
Segment sales for the three months to the end of June also fell 10.7 percent to $461 million, as volumes dropped 2 percent globally amid weak automotive production.
Demand in China drove improved sales volumes in Asia, which rose 2 percent.
Softer automotive production was among the factors that led to a 7 percent decrease sales in EMEA, while sales fell 3 percent in the Americas, mainly because of weaker sales in Latin America.
Cabot said the impacts partially were offset by the favorable terms of its calendar year 2019 tire customer agreements.