The Dow Chemical Company posted sales of $14.7 billion in the first quarter of 2011, a 20 per cent increase compared with the same period last year.

Top-line growth was driven by an 8 per cent increase in volume and a 12 per cent increase in price. All operating segments and geographic areas reported double-digit sales increases, the company said.

Reported earnings for the quarter were $0.54 per share, compared with $0.41 per share in the same period last year. The company earned $0.82 per share in the quarter, excluding certain items. This compares with earnings of $0.43 per share in the same quarter last year, excluding certain items.

Certain items in the current quarter consisted of a loss on the early extinguishment of debt of $0.26 per share, and Rohm and Haas acquisition-related integration costs of $0.02 per share, both reflected in corporate.

At a company level, Ebitda rose $622 million, or 34 per cent, to $2.4 billion. This represents the second highest quarterly Ebitda on record for the company.

Equity earnings were $298 million, led by strong performance from Dow Corning, MEGlobal and the company’s joint ventures in Kuwait.

“Our focus on execution was clear as we drove significant sales increases across all geographies and all operating segments through rigorous price and volume discipline. As a result, we achieved yet another quarter of margin expansion and delivered Ebitda growth of more than 30 per cent,” stated Andrew N. Liveris, Dow’s chairman and chief executive officer.

“In Q1, we extended our geographic footprint with a new office in Kuwait; we also finalised a comprehensive cooperation agreement that establishes Dow’s Middle East and Africa R&D centre at Kaust,” added Markus Wildi, president, Dow Middle East.-TradeArabia News Service