Elementis, a British-based company, reported a 23 per cent first-half increase in sales of its personal care ingredients designed to enhance the performance of moisturizers.
The company gives much of the credit for its performance to the bringing in of new blood from personal care companies, including an executive who previously worked with Croda International.
Elementis suffered an overall ten percent dip in operating profits in the first half of 2013, but anticipates a return to good form in the second half of the year on the back of demand for its technological developments in cosmetics. It is reportedly on track to meet analysts estimates for this year.
Personal care products
In personal care, the company has three major tranches of products. One is based on hectorite, a rare natural mineral which is mined in California and which is forms an important part of the company’s additives for moisturizers.
A spokesperson said: “The advantage of the molecule is that it is a flat trapezoid, as well as being small, so in terms of flow it is pretty easy to control the consistency of any substance which includes it.”
“This means it’s good for managing the thickness of substances. It’s also naturally white, which is an advantage for clients who want to add color to their products.”
Natural oils
A second major segment of the company's cosmetic ingredient offerings comes from the natural oils section, which is based on organic technology which extracts oils from plant seeds.
Another major tranche involves the extraction of materials like lanolin.
The spokesman said: "the natural plant seed oils enables the company to solutions solutions for personal care cosmetics which can be certified as anti-ageing and organic."
The company is also involved with developing polymer-based thickeners; for example Rheoluxe, a highly efficient rheological modifier which was officially launched at a recent Paris cosmetics show.
First-quarter decline
Elementis suffered from a 10 per cent decline in operating profits in the first-half of 2013, from €303.49 million to €293.58 million, in part due to the maintenance shutdown of a chromium division.
However, the overall feeling of the company towards the next six months is optimism.
In an interview with Bloomberg, finance director Brian Taylorson said:“I can’t promise that it will be 23 percent growth [in personal care products] again in the second half, but it should be healthy.”
He also credited the company's good performance in their cosmetic ingredient section partly to being a small, niche player in the personal care market, and also to the addition of new talent more immersed in the sector who have been responsible for "ideas and opportunities that are accelerating the business.”