Netherland’s based technical textiles giant, TenCate has announced that its operating profit (EBIT) for the second quarter of 2010 has soared to approximately € 27 million, up 143% from second quarter 2009’s € 11.1 million, in advance of the publication of its half-year figures on 26 August 2010.

Operating profit for the first six months of 2010 doubled to an amount of approximately € 33 million and taking incidental items into account, net profit doubled in the first half to approximately € 19 million.

 Performance

Highlights were: Corporate revenues for the first six months of 2010 amounted to approximately € 450 million (+5%) and the Geosynthetics & Grass sector showed strong growth (+17%).

Sales declined by 10% in the Advanced Textiles & Composites sector as a result of reduced demand for TenCate Defender M and TenCate Gen2 for the US Army. This was due to a modification to the camouflage print (MultiCam pattern). Conversely, the successful market launch of the protective fabric TenCate Tecasafe Plus in the US industrial market resulted in a sharp increase in the sales of this product in the first half year. The company says that sales of TenCate Defender M in particular, will again recover their old level in the second half of the year.

 The Geosynthetics & Grass sector is said to have recorded a significant improvement in its result after a decrease in costs in business operations across the entire sector. In synthetic turf operations, the company’s commercial policy was amended in combination with the implementation of efficiency measures and this is said to have had a highly positive effect.

 The Other Activities sector is also said to have showed a favourable picture. TenCate Enbi, a technical rubbers and foams business, recorded a strong growth in profits, partly as a result of the cost measures taken at the end of 2009 and partly due to positive market trends. TenCate’s digital printing subsidiary Xennia Technology also made good progress in commercial developments.

Second half performance

TenCate says the improvement in results will continue in the second half of 2010 and there will be positive developments in the Advanced Textiles & Composites sector, which will underpin the growth in profits. Sales of protective fabrics to the US Army are predicted to recover. The expectation is that sales of aerospace composites will also gradually begin to recover in the second half.

TenCate says the armour composites market in the US presents a more positive picture than that for the first six months, based on the present project portfolio. The company predicts that new programmes, such as that for the Eurocopter, will gradually begin to contribute to sales in the future and the outlook in both the aviation market and the armour market in respect of composites is thus positive.