It was a week of good results and bad news for W.R. Grace.
Thursday, the Columbia-based chemical company learned it lost exclusive control over its bankruptcy case, forcing the company to enter more direct negotiations with plaintiffs. On the other hand, earlier in the week, the company announced a more than $25 million jump in net income for the second quarter compared with last year?s loss during the same time.
In a three-page order, Judge Judith Fitzgerald of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., said the negotiation process would be expedited by removing exclusive control from Grace.
“Termination of exclusivity will facilitate moving the case toward conclusion by changing the dynamics for negotiation while permitting [Grace] to continue to operate their business, resolve claims and participate in negotiations,” Fitzgerald wrote.
For the quarter, Grace reported a total net income of $20.5 million. However, excluding costs related to the Chapter 11 proceedings and environmental remediation would have meant a net income of nearly $50 million, the company said.
Sales for the first six months of fiscal 2007 also were up, to more than $1.5 billion compared with the same time a year ago, when the figure was less than $1.4 billion.
Around the globe, sales were up 24.3 percent in Europe and 15.6 percent in Asia and Latin America, but down 5.5 percent in North America for the second quarter.
“We continue to deliver good year-over-year operating performance,” Grace President and Chief Executive Officer Fred Festa said in a statement. “We have been able to capitalize on high growth economies globally, and continue to be successful in advancing our growth initiatives.
“The shift of our business base to economies outside of the U.S. has been beneficial during this time of low housing starts in North American markets.”
Court proceedings stem back to 2001, when Grace filed for bankruptcy as a result of asbestos liability-related lawsuits.
W.R. Grace is part of The Examiner Top 10, a portfolio of some of the largest publicly traded companies in the region.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
