China. Vanish and Air Wick drovethe growth in Home. The strongperformance in Hygiene was drivenby Dettol. Hygiene also performedparticularly well in the RUMEA areabehind Finish, Dettol and Veet. Thecompany says it is pleased with itsbusiness performance in the area,particularly the continued strongresults from Russia.

Looking at the relevant sectors inmore detail, Hygiene (46% of corenet revenue) reported total netrevenue of £1025 M for 1Q 2013(+9% on 1Q 2012). The increase insales was largely driven by stronggrowth in Dettol/Lysol across bothemerging markets and ENA,underpinned by the continuedsuccess of base disinfectants andalso category extensions intokitchen gels, and soap and bodywashes in certain markets. Growthin Finish came from Quantum andAll-in-1, which performed well,particularly in the USA, Germanyand Australia. The Home sectorreported total net revenue of £488 M(+2%). Vanish saw good growth in anumber of emerging marketcountries, particularly Brazil, whilstEurope continued to see sharestabilization, albeit in a difficultconsumer environment. Reckitt’sPortfolio Brands sector saw total netrevenue fall 22% in 1Q 2013 to £130M, due in large part to plannedactions in the predominantlySouthern European Footwearbusiness. The company also sawfurther weakness in LaundryDetergents and Fabric Softeners inSouthern Europe, driven primarily bymore competitive market conditions.

Original Source: Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, 103-105Bath Road, Slough SL1 3UH, UK, tel: +44 1753217800, fax: +44 1753 217899, website:http://www.reckittbenckiser.com (22 Apr 2013) © Reckitt Benckiser Group plc 2013

COMPANYNEWS

Unilever risks expansion in India

Unilever plans to invest more than €4bn on increasing its stake in its Indiansubsidiary Hindustan Unilever by 22.5%to 75%. The offer price to shareholders

represents a premium of 21%. Thecompany is betting on growingwealth among the population.Unilever now generates 57% of itssales in emerging countries. Thecompany’s growth rates in Asia werealmost 10% at the start of 2013.Hindustan Unilever is already thelargest producer of consumer goodsin India.

Original Source: Handelsblatt Wirtschafts- undFinanzzeitung, 30 Apr 2013, (Website:http://www.handelsblatt.com) (in German) © Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt GmbH & Co KG 2013

BASF cuts jobs in Europe and investsin Asia

BASF will eliminate up to 500positions worldwide by end-2015 asit seeks to respond to the economicdownturn. The majority of the jobcuts will be implemented inSwitzerland as part of the firm’sefforts to make its PerformanceProducts division more competitive.The division includes business iningredients for toiletries, cosmetics,and pharmaceuticals, as well asplastic additives and paperchemicals. Elsewhere, BASF and itspartner Petronas have decided tobuild an aromas complex at theirvast complex in Gebeng, Malaysia.The $500 M project will be financed60:40 by BASF and Petronas. Thenew aromas complex, which willcreate 100 jobs, will be basedaround units making dimethyloctandienal (citral) and itsprecursors. Downstream units willinclude a world-scale l-menthol unitand a dimethyl octenol (citronellol)unit. Construction work will berealized in several phases with thefirst unit entering service by 2016.The project is designed to meetgrowing demand in Asia Pacific foraromatic ingredients for theperfumes, personal care,agrofoodstuffs and pharmaceuticalssectors.

Original Source: Chimie Pharma Hebdo, 29 Apr2013, (632), (Website:http://www.industrie.com/chimie/) (in French) ©ETAI Information 2013

Clariant’s divested businesses toform new company

Clariant and SK Capital haveprovided an update on the

separation process of TextileChemicals, Paper Specialties andEmulsions [Focus on Surfactants,Mar 2013]. After the closure of theirsale to SK Capital, the threebusinesses will be integrated into anew company named Archroma,which will supply the textile, paper,adhesives and coatings industries.With a targeted turnover of SFR 1.2bn/y and approximately 3000employees, the company will beheadquartered in Switzerland. Thepaper chemicals division will bemanaged from Switzerland whereasthe activities in the textile andemulsion segments will beheadquartered in Singapore andBrazil. Subject to approval by therelevant authorities, the transactionis expected to close at the end of3Q 2013. Clariant continues to seekbuyers for its leather services andDetergent & Intermediatesactivities.

Original Source: Neue Zuercher Zeitung, 3 May2013, 234 (101), 11 (Website: http://www.nzz.ch/)(in German) © Neue Zuercher Zeitung AG 2013

Oxiteno’s Uruguay deal may beblocked

Brazil’s antitrust regulator may notapprove the $80 M sale ofUruguayan surfactants makerAmerican Chemical to Brazil’sOxiteno [Focus on Surfactants, Feb2013]. In an opinion statement, thehead of the Administrative Councilfor Economic Defence of Brazil(CADE) commented that the merger would underminecompetition in the market for sodiumlauryl ether sulfate, utilized indetergents, shampoos and liquidsoap among other cleaning andpersonal care applications. Bothcompanies are involved in theproduction and sale of the productwithin the Mercosur region, andcombined would hold a marketshare of >60%. The case will nowbe reviewed by CADE’s tribunal,which is responsible for the finaldecision.

Original Source: Chemical and Engineering News, 29 Apr 2013, 91 (17), 14 (Website: http://www.cen-online.org) © American Chemical Society 2013.Original Source: ICIS Chemical Business, 29 Apr2013, 283 (15), (Website: http://icis.com) © ReedBusiness Information Limited 2013

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