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Welcome Grace Battista

2014-05-12 06:00:00| Industrial Newsroom - All News for Today

1Source Safety and Health Inc. welcomes Grace Battista to our growing list of safety and health professionals. Ms. Battista is currently enrolled in a Master's of Environmental Science Program. She will be assisting our clients implement their specific industrial hygiene sampling programs. In addition, she will also be maintaining their IH databases as well as conducting qualitative exposure assessments. Ms. Battista also brings along excellent technical research and program writing ...

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Is 14nm Intel Corporation's Saving Grace?

2014-05-07 06:34:56| Semiconductors - Topix.net

The company's activities range from the manufacture and design of chips to their distribution in various markets.

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Grace Reports First Quarter 2014 Adjusted EPS of $0.77

2014-04-23 12:02:41| W.R. Grace & Co.

Please visit http://www.grace.com/Media/Documents\3114.pdf

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Grace Reports First Quarter 2014 Adjusted EPS of $0.77

2014-04-23 12:00:00| W.R. Grace & Co.

COLUMBIA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--W. R. Grace & Co. (NYSE:GRA) announced first quarter net income of $50.1 million, or $0.64 per diluted share. Net income for the prior-year quarter was $59.1 million, or $0.77 per diluted share. Adjusted EPS was $0.77 per diluted share compared with $0.91 per diluted share in the prior-year quarter. All three businesses grew sales in the quarter, said Fred Festa, Grace's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Catalysts Technologies grew with new products and the polypropylene acquisition, which more than offset lower demand in Europe. Materials Technologies grew with strong demand in engineered materials, and Construction Products experienced strong growth, except in North America where severe weather reduced construction activity in the quarter. First Quarter Results First quarter sales of $744.5 million increased 4.9 percent compared with the prior-year quarter as increased sales volumes (+7.0 percent) and improved base pricing (+0.4 percent) offset unfavorable currency translation (-1.5 percent) and lower rare earth surcharges (-1.0 percent). Acquisitions contributed 4.2 percent to sales volume growth. Segment Gross Margin of 36.3 percent declined 90 basis points compared with the prior-year quarter primarily due to higher operating costs resulting from the impact of extreme cold weather on the companys large manufacturing facility at Curtis Bay, MD. The Curtis Bay facility, which produces both refinery catalysts and silica-based engineered materials, was closed intermittently for 13 days in the first quarter due to the weather conditions. Adjusted EBIT of $111.3 million decreased 4.7 percent compared with $116.8 million in the prior-year quarter. The decrease primarily was due to weather-related operating costs, higher raw material costs and unfavorable currency translation, which offset higher sales volumes. The company estimates extreme weather conditions in North America lowered earnings by approximately $9 million in the quarter largely due to higher operating costs at the Curtis Bay facility and lost Construction Products sales. The UNIPOL Polypropylene Process Technology Licensing and Catalysts Business acquired in December 2013 contributed approximately $3 million to Adjusted EBIT after acquisition-related costs of approximately $7 million. Adjusted EBIT margin of 14.9 percent decreased 160 basis points from the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBIT Return On Invested Capital was 27.2 percent on a trailing four-quarter basis compared with 27.4 percent at year-end 2013. Grace Catalysts Technologies Sales up 6.8 percent; segment operating income down 7.8 percent First quarter sales for the Catalysts Technologies operating segment, which includes refinery catalysts, specialty catalysts, polypropylene licensing and additives for refinery, plastics and other chemical process applications, were $284.5 million, an increase of 6.8 percent compared with the prior-year quarter. The increase primarily was due to higher sales volumes (+9.7 percent) and favorable currency translation (+1.0 percent), which offset lower pricing (-3.9 percent) including lower rare earth surcharges of $7 million. The December 2013 polypropylene acquisition contributed approximately $28 million to sales. Sales of refinery catalysts, which represented 69 percent of segment sales, declined 2.7 percent compared with the prior-year quarter as lower prices reflecting the elimination of the rare earth surcharge more than offset higher sales volumes and favorable currency translation. Sales of specialty catalysts, licensing and supports increased 36.9 percent due to the polypropylene acquisition. Excluding the acquisition, lower sales volumes offset improved pricing and favorable currency translation. The decrease in base sales volumes primarily was due to the scheduled conclusion of a multi-year toll manufacturing contract for a polyolefin catalyst customer in the second quarter of 2013. Segment gross margin was 39.0 percent compared with 40.3 percent in the prior-year quarter. The decrease in gross margin primarily was due to lower pricing and the weather-related operating costs. Segment operating income was $71.2 million compared with $77.2 million in the prior-year quarter. The decrease primarily was due to lower gross margin, lower ART joint venture earnings and higher depreciation and amortization from the polypropylene acquisition. Grace Materials Technologies Sales up 2.3 percent; segment operating income up 2.7 percent First quarter sales for the Materials Technologies operating segment, which includes engineered materials for consumer, industrial, coatings and pharmaceutical applications and packaging technologies, were $219.8 million, an increase of 2.3 percent compared with the prior-year quarter. The increase was due to higher sales volumes (+2.4 percent) and improved pricing (+1.1 percent), which offset unfavorable currency translation (-1.2 percent). Sales of engineered materials, which represented 58 percent of segment sales, increased 6.9 percent due to higher sales volumes, improved pricing and favorable currency translation. Sales in advanced regions increased 9.5 percent led by growth of approximately 12 percent in Western Europe. Sales of engineered materials in emerging regions increased 1.5 percent as higher sales in China and India offset weakness in Eastern Europe and Latin America. Sales of packaging technologies declined 3.5 percent due to unfavorable currency translation and lower sales volumes which offset improved pricing. Sales in emerging regions, which represented approximately 52 percent of sales, declined 4.1 percent primarily due to lower sales in Asia and Latin America. Segment gross margin was 34.9 percent, a decrease of 20 basis points compared with the prior-year quarter. The decrease in gross margin was due to unfavorable currency translation and weather-related operating costs, which offset improved pricing. Segment operating income was $45.5 million compared with $44.3 million in the prior-year quarter, a 2.7 percent increase primarily due to higher sales volumes and improved operating leverage. Segment operating margin was 20.7 percent, an increase of 10 basis points compared with the prior-year quarter. Grace Construction Products Sales up 5.1 percent; segment operating income up 11.4 percent First quarter sales for the Construction Products operating segment, which includes Specialty Construction Chemicals (SCC) products and Specialty Building Materials (SBM) products used in commercial, infrastructure and residential construction, were $240.2 million compared with $228.5 million in the prior-year quarter. The sales increase was due to higher sales volumes (+8.0 percent) and improved pricing (+1.7 percent), which offset unfavorable currency translation (-4.6 percent). The company estimates that the cold-weather impact on

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