The world’s largest industrial minerals group, Imerys SA, has reported a net income decrease of 70.8%, compounded by a fall in sales of 23% in its results for H1 2009.
Gérard Buffière, chief executive officer of Imerys, reacted by saying: “The second quarter showed no improvement in the economic situation created by the unprecedented crisis the global economy is going through. We aggressively continued the drastic reduction of our costs and made generating free cash flow our priority.”
The group’s overall sales were €1,374m. ($1,930m.) in H1 2009; a 26.6% fall on H1 2008 sales, which totalled €1,774.1m.
Ceramics, Refractories, Abrasives & Foundry
There were two highlights of the group’s Minerals for Ceramics, Refractories, Abrasives & Foundry division in the results. The group created a new research centre, Imerys...