Ferro Second Quarter Sales Drop 19%; Consolidations Planned in Europe
Ferro Corp. recently announced net sales of $482 million for the three-month period ended June 30, 2012, a decline of 19% compared with net sales of $594 million in the same quarter last year. Reduced sales of Electronic Materials products, including precious metal sales, reportedly drove the decline in consolidated net sales. In addition, reduced customer demand in Europe due to a weaker economic climate and changes in foreign currency exchange rates contributed to the decline in sales compared with the prior-year quarter.
Reduced demand for conductive pastes used in solar cell applications, metal powders used in a variety of electronic products and ceria-based surface finishing materials resulted in a $90 million decline in sales for the Electronic Materials segment, including a $63 million decline in sales of precious metals due to reduced volume and lower silver prices.