Editor: Adam Zhang
Industrial mineral giant Imerys reported organic sales growth of 3.4% in 2017, buoyed by strong performance from its graphite and refractory business.
"Sales of the refractory minerals and Kerneos divisions, which were grouped together in a new Aluminates division, were firm," Imerys said.
"They benefited from the upturn on refractory markets, which was accentuated by a catch-up effect, and the development of the building chemicals market for the construction and civil engineering sectors."
"This notably allowed for accelerated revenue growth at the fused alumina plant in Bahrain."
Northeast Asia Industrial Minerals Exchange assessed prices for alumina, fusedbrown, 95% min Al2O3, refractory sized (0-6mm), fob China, at $780-800 per tonne on December 28, 2017, compared with $600-610 a year earlier.
The company’s kaolin division saw growth in ceramic markets, "[but] the environment remained negative for the paper market."
And sales in the company’s filtration division, which markets diatomite and pearlite, were supported by firm demand from the consumer goods sector.
The company reported "satisfactory" performance of the metallurgy division, which includes the company’s bentonite business.
Sales in the graphite and carbon segment were boosted by rising demand for lithium-ion batteries for use in electric vehicles. Graphite is used as an anode material in these batteries.
But the oilfield solutions segment continued to run at a loss. Imerys produces ceramic proppants for use in fracking, a market which has been badly hit by a shift among drillers to silica sand for proppants.