Imaginative omega 3 solutions: Incromega™ 3mulsion DHA
Croda Europe
The world's number two vitamin maker said that despite a 3 per cent rise in volumes, prices fell 5 per cent and currency exchange rates shaved off a further 3 per cent.
It has seen turnover in this division fall by 2 per cent during the nine-month period to €1.4 billion, although business with pharmaceutical active ingredients, cosmetic ingredients and aroma chemicals 'developed positively'.
EBIT before special items in this segment, part of the Agricultural Products and Nutrition unit that also makes fungicides, fell 65 per cent to €8 million. Earnings were further impacted by restructuring measures being carried out to reduce costs.
DSM, the vitamins leader, is also coming under pressure in the vitamin C market, announcing earlier this week that it will cut 200 jobs at its vitamin plant in Dalry, Scotland.
The company cited "the fierce competition in vitamins C and B5" as well as pressure from China and India, and "a global overcapacity for certain products".
Last year the China Pharmaceutical Group said it would double its output of vitamin C through a new production line scheduled to come on stream in the second quarter of this year.
The company is aiming to become the world's largest producer of vitamin C and is increasingly focused on overseas markets.