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Ferro Second Quarter Sales Flat

Ferro Corp. recently reported net sales of $435 million in the second quarter of 2013, compared with net sales of $476 million in the previous year’s second quarter. Value-added sales, which exclude precious metal sales, were $408 million, vs. $424 million in the second quarter last year. The reduction in sales resulted primarily from the company’s divestiture of its solar paste assets in the first quarter of 2013 and its borates mining operation in Argentina during the second quarter of 2012, coupled with product de-selection in the Polymer Additives segment.

Although value-added sales declined across all reportable segments, adjusting for divested operations, sales in the Pigments, Powders and Oxides segment reportedly increased by approximately $2 million. Sales in the Performance Colors and Glass, Performance Coatings and Specialty Plastics segments were nearly flat. Polymer Additives sales declined by approximately $7 million due to expected changes in environmental regulations pertaining to certain plasticizer products, which are resulting in product replacement by some customers in the U.S. and Europe.

“We continue to make good progress on our value creation strategy, resulting in improved gross profit margins, lower SG&A costs and increased adjusted earnings,” said Peter Thomas, president and CEO. “Second quarter value-added sales, excluding divested business, were down slightly vs. the same period last year, despite continued depressed economic conditions in Europe, de-selection of certain Polymer Additives products, and continued rationalization of our customer and product portfolios. We are successfully executing on our cost saving initiatives, making Ferro more competitive and driving increased profitability. We are on track with our cost saving initiatives and continue to expect $30 million of savings in 2013 and $70 million in 2014.”

For additional information, visit www.ferro.com.