North American compounding leader PolyOne Corp. posted higher sales and profit in the first half of 2018.
The Avon Lake, Ohio-based firm saw first-half sales grow almost 13 percent vs. the first half of 2017 to just over $1.8 billion. Profit ticked up more than 1 percent to $99.3 million. PolyOne's second-quarter sales were up more than 12 percent.
"Our investments in commercial resources and specialty acquisitions continue to drive our growth," Chairman, President and CEO Robert Patterson said in a July 24 news release. He added that he was "particularly pleased" with PolyOne's results in light of higher raw material and freight costs and short supplies of raw materials such as nylon 6/6 and fluoropolymers.
For individual segments, PolyOne's Color, Additives & Inks unit enjoyed first-half sales growth of 25 percent, while sales in Distribution grew almost 11 percent. Sales gains of 3-5 percent were seen in Performance Products & Solutions, including PVC compounds, and Specialty Engineered Materials.
First-half operating profit for Color, Additives & Inks jumped 19 percent, while SEM grew 3 percent and PP&S gained almost 2 percent in that area. Distribution operating profit for the six months was down 5 percent.
PolyOne has made 10 acquisitions in the last three years, most recently purchasing composites maker PlastiComp Inc. of Winona, Minn., in June.
"We are laying the foundation for sustainable long-term growth with our investments in sales, marketing and technology resources and our proven M&A strategy," Patterson said.
On Wall Street, PolyOne's per-share stock price began 2018 around $44 and was at $44.25 in late trading July 24 for a gain of almost 2 percent.
