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[April 2002]
FMC Corp Reports 2002 First Quarter Results
FMC Corporation (Philadelphia, PA, USA) has reported first quarter 2002, after-tax income from continuing operations before special items of US$0.41 per share on a fully diluted basis versus US$0.51 per share in Q1 2001. Sales and after-tax income before special items were US$434.2 million and US$13.2 million respectively versus US$447.2 million and US$16.4 million for the same period last year.
FMC's Chairman, President and CEO William Walter said: "FMC's performance during the quarter was consistent with our expectations. Our earnings this quarter were below last year's level due primarily to the absence of a $10 million profit protection payment and weaker industrial demand than we experienced in early 2001. We do not see evidence of a sustained economic recovery within our industrial markets and, therefore, our flat outlook for the economy remains unchanged.
"However, we will see improved earnings comparisons in the second half of 2002 as a result of the continuing progress we are making to restructure and refocus Agricultural Products, significantly lower environmental spending at Pocatello, and steps we took in the first quarter to further streamline our overhead costs in Industrial Chemicals."
As part of a wide portfolio of customised products and solutions for many industrial markets, FMC provides a number of important industrial chemical segment products for the ceramic and glass industries. These include lithium carbonate, lithium fluoride, lithium metaborate, lithium nitrate, lithium orthophosphate, lithium phosphate, lithium sulphate, clay deflocculants, soda ash and silicates.
ENDS