Dow Boosts Dispersants Production (DD) (DOW)

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Dow Coating Materials, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company (DOW), plans to increase production of its Dispersants products in order to capitalize on the increasing demand from customers across the globe. The company will start producing more TAMOL and OROTAN High-Performance Hydrophobically Modified Copolymer Dispersants from the first quarter of 2013. These dispersants are primarily used in the coatings industry as well as other Dow businesses in North America and worldwide.

The TAMOL dispersants provide numerous benefits such as excellent efficiency, gloss enhancement, pigment wetting, stability and color acceptance. They are mainly utilized for a varied selection of polyacid, hydrophilic copolymer, and hydrophobic copolymer dispersants to meet a variety of formulation demands. They will be produced for architectural and industrial coatings manufacturers, and hygiene and medical as well as personal and home care applications.

Last month, Dow released its third quarter 2012 results. The company earned 42 cents a share in the quarter compared with 62 cents (all excluding special items) in the year-ago quarter. However, earnings in the quarter topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 37 cents.

Dow’s profits tumbled 39% year over year to $497 million as lower pricing dragged down its sales in the quarter. The company also witnessed weak demand for its products in the quarter, largely stemming from the recessionary conditions in Europe.

Revenues slipped 9.7% (or 7% on an adjusted basis) year over year to $13,637 million in the quarter, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14,130 million. Sales fell across all segments except Agricultural Sciences, which was the only bright spot in the quarter. Revenues in Europe slid 10% largely due to unfavorable currency translation.

Dow competes with EI DuPont de Nemours & Co. (DD) and currently retains a Zacks #3 Rank that translates to a short-term (1 to 3 months) Hold rating. We currently have a long-term (more than 6 months) Neutral recommendation on the stock.

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