AMCOL International sees 6 percent 2Q net sales gain

Hoffman Estates based-International Corp. reported net sales increased 6.1 percent during the second quarter, which the company attributed to strong business in its mining and oil field divisions.

Net sales for the quarter were $257.5 million, up from $242.8 million for the same period in 2011 period. Excluding the effects of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, revenues would have increased 9.1 percent, the company said in a release.

Gross profit increased 19.5 percent while gross margin increased 320 basis points to 28.8 percent. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased 7.4 percent to $43.3 million. Operating profit increased 41.7 percent with operating profit margins increasing by 300 basis points to 12 percent.

AMCOL President and CEO Ryan McKendrick said the strength in the mining and oil field operations helped offset weaker results in AMCOL’s other divisions.

“Our second quarter results demonstrate that we are executing on our profitable growth strategy despite a volatile, global economy. The strength of AMCOL’s diverse portfolio of products and services was demonstrated by strong segment performance in both Minerals & Materials and Oilfield Services while our Environmental segment continues to see weakened demand,” said McKendrick. “Minerals & Materials increased revenues 11 percent with operating profit increasing significantly. Increased sales of metalcasting products and drilling fluid products were the primary growth drivers,

“Our Environmental segment had another difficult quarter,” he added. “Over forty-three percent of the segment’s sales are in Europe, where sharp declines in overall construction activity are affecting both the lining and building materials markets. In addition, we are seeing continued softness in the domestic market for lining products. However, our domestic building materials and drilling products within the segment continue to perform well.”

McKendrick said the oil field services’ domestic activities, including coiled tubing, filtration, well testing, and nitrogen, all grew during the quarter.

“Our strategy to further develop services in international locations where we have an established presence is paying off as revenue from these locations, such as Brazil and Malaysia, almost doubled and now account for 25 percent of segment sales,” he said.

AMCOL’s diluted earnings per share attributable to its shareholders from continuing operations was 65 cents per share, up from 42 cents per share in the prior year’s quarter.