Demand for flame retardants drives Nabaltec Q1 earnings up 7.5%

• Autores: Davide Ghilotti
• Localización: Industrial Minerals, ISSN 0019-8544, Nº. 602, 2018 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Mayo - Junio)
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Germany-based flame retardants producer Nabaltec has reported a 7.5% year-on-year increase in earnings in the first three months of 2018 on strong demand for its speciality alumina products, although there are still concerns in the market about the availability of alumina trihydrate (ATH) feedstocks. Market prices for alumina trihydrate (ATH), one of the main feedstocks for refined hydroxides and flame retardants, have gone up this year due to a combination of factors including high demand, reduced supply in the non-metallurgical alumina space, and volatility in the prices of smelter grade alumina (SGA) during 2017. The reduction in production capacity at Norsk Hydro’s Alunorte refinery in Brazil, whose exports of ATH to the US had been growing at double-digit rates until earlier this year, is expected to further tighten supply of the material in North America in the months ahead.