Kuraray's isoprene unit sees 34% decline in profits

Tokyo – Kuraray’s Isoprene business has continued its decline in the third quarter of 2019, with nine-month sales down 6.3% year-on-year to Yen40 billion (€332 million).

The unit, which includes styrenic-based thermoplastic rubbers Septon, also posted a 33.8% decrease in operating income to Yen4.1 billion over the first nine months of the year

The reverses  were linked to a decline in the sales volume of isoprene chemicals and thermoplastic elastomers, particularly in China, the Japanese materials supplier said in a 12 Nov financial report.

Kuraray’s isoprene unit also includes Genestar-branded polyamide engineering plastic, which also saw sluggish demand for electric and electronic devices during the period.

The business has posed continued declines in sales and operating income during 2019.

For the first half of the year, the unit posted 1.4% year-on-year decline in operating income at Yen3.4 billion on 1.5% lower sales of Yen27.4 billion.