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[June 2002]
Business Stays Firm for Zemex
Revenue recorded by Zemex Corporation (Toronto, Canada) declined from $16.6 million in the first quarter of 2001 to $15 million in the first quarter of 2002, primarily due to the low iron sand shortfall and the sales inclusion of the two talc plants in 2001, which were subsequently sold last year. Excluding the effect of the low iron sand shortfall and excluding the sales from the two talc facilities, revenue increased by 4% over the corresponding quarter of 2001.Richard Lister, President of Zemex, said: "In general, business has been firm in most of our product lines, and appears to be strengthening into the second quarter, which is seasonally expected. Initial indications for the second quarter show strong activity for the housing and automotive markets, which are the largest consumers of our industrial minerals.
"Our attapulgite clay acquisition, which has operated for us for two months, has been a solid contributor, slightly in excess of our original assumptions. We have also seen increased volumes in our Spruce Pine sodium feldspar operation and expect this to expand.
"Our aluminium recycling group had a very poor January and February, continuing the previous year's experience. March has been stronger than in the past several months at our recycling conversion facilities and this has continued through April giving expectations that the worst days may be behind us. Aluminium pricing and the improved economy both translate to improvements in these operations. Our recent acquisition of the Resource Recovery's recycling assets also bodes well for improvements in this group.
"All in all, the results, when adjusted for the shortfall discussed above, are on target, and business activity for products we produce is improving, providing anticipation for strong growth in the next three quarters."
ENDS