In the third quarter of 2013 technical textiles giant TenCate recorded an organic increase in EBITA of 11% compared to the third quarter of 2012, an increase is almost entirely attributable to the Advanced Textiles and Composites sector.

The cautious government market (infrastructure and environment) and weakening economic growth in Asia put downward pressure on revenues in the Geosynthetics and Grass sector, the company reports.

Positive trends

Revenue growth in the third quarter was achieved by the TenCate Advanced Composites, TenCate Advanced Armour and TenCate Grass market groups.

The debt position has decreased further compared to the first half of the year, due to modified control of the company, resulting in a strong cash flow, good control of the working capital and a restrained level of investment.

Advanced Textiles and Composites sector

Sales of TenCate Defender M remained at a low level. Despite increased marketing of the product outside the US, the increase in sales here had a limited impact overall. Sales of TenCate Tecasafe Plus continued to grow strongly.

TenCate Advanced Composites took advantage of the increase in production for both Airbus and Boeing. Demand from the space industry remained at a high level.

Armour-related revenues increased compared to the third quarter of 2012, due to growing revenues from the market for personal protection. The vehicle armour market remained cautious, while production for aerospace armour recovered in accordance with expectations.

Geosynthetics and Grass sector

In the third quarter the revenues of the TenCate Geosynthetics market group remained at the same level as in the comparable period last year. In Europe and North America revenues grew. However, the pressure on government spending had a negative effect on the margin due to the absence of large projects, the company reports. Revenues from Asia were below the level of last year as a result of weakening economic growth.

TenCate Grass benefited from a higher capacity utilisation rate, thanks to favourable market trends and an increase in market share. The demand for GreenFields MX, the 3D-woven synthetic turf system, increased due to its distinctive innovative technology.

www.tencate.com