OM’s First Quarter Sales Drop 22 Percent

OM Group (NYSE:OMG) announced their financial results for Q1 2013.

As quoted in the press release:

First quarter 2013 sales of $364 million were 22 percent lower than in the prior year comparable quarter, primarily due to lower cobalt prices in the Advanced Materials business and lower rare-earth pricing effects in the Magnetic Technologies business. Excluding the Advanced Materials business and the effects of rare-earth pricing, net sales in the 2013 first quarter were $278 million, 3% lower than the first quarter of 2012 but 8% higher sequentially than the fourth quarter of 2012.  Magnetic Technologies volumes improved from last quarter, and Battery Technologies achieved record sales. Specialty Chemicals sales levels were down slightly on lower demand caused by weak macroeconomic conditions in certain key end markets.

OM’s Chairman and CEO, , said:

During the quarter we also made progress on our cost-reduction initiatives, which contributed to our strong EBITDA performance.  Overall, we are pleased with our start to the year, and our EBITDA expectation for the full year 2013 remains at$120-$140 million, despite the recent announcement to divest our ultra pure chemicals subsidiaries by June of this year.” The Company’s forecast excludes Advanced Materials and charges related to cost reduction initiatives.

To view the whole press release, click here.