Dutch chemicals and vitamins group DSM missed quarterly operating profit forecasts and lowered its 2012 outlook because of lower margins for a product to make nylon.

DSM reported a third-quarter quarter operating profit of €147 million ($188 million) from continued operations, compared with a forecast for €162 million in a poll.

The company reiterated the full-year outlook for all its business units except for "Performance Materials" where it said operating profit before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) would likely be slightly below 2011. In August, it said the unit's operations' profit to be in line with last year.

Lower prices for a product used to make a type of nylon, caprolactam, has lead to lower margins for its Performance Materials business, chief financial officer Rolf-Dieter Schwalb told reporters.