Business impacted by the economy
Following good growth in the first half of 2008, the strong dependence of the Pigments business on economic trends became noticeable as of August. This was mainly reflected by weak demand from the automotive sector, to which we are an important supplier with pigments for automotive coatings. As of the fourth quarter, the economic weakening also hit the European business. Total revenues in Pigments declined overall by 9.7%.
Asia still offers potential, for example China with a growth rate of 7.5%. However, negative currency effects are impacting business there. Weak demand for consumer goods and current consumer uncertainty also affected the business with pigments for plastics, print products and cosmetics.
Product lines rounded off
In the current economic situation, we continue to focus on high-value, profitable pigments. In 2008, we added new color tones to our portfolio of the high-growth product lines Miraval® and Ronastar®, and we implemented the widespread launch of the new Pyrisma™ product line. These pigments, which were developed in close cooperation with our customers, offer very intense effects and cover a wide color range.
Functional pigments
Functional pigments performed very well, including pigments for laser marking and antistatic applications (Minatec® range). These are used, for example, to prevent the static charging of plastic floor coverings and for coating plastic parts. Sales of Candurin® pigments, which are used for color coatings of foods and pharmaceuticals, were also strong. While the focus is on decorative effects in the foods sector, pharmaceutical coatings are used to help patients to better identify their medications and to make drugs more counterfeit-proof. Approval has been granted in the United States and some other core countries. We are now focusing on countries where approval has not yet been obtained.
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