Albemarle Q1 Revenue Up 19.3%

Specialty chemicals maker Albemarle Corp posted a better-than-expected first-quarter profit on Monday as earnings jumped in its polymer and catalyst businesses.

For the January-to-March period, the company reported net income of $63.3 million, or 69 cents per share, compared with $25.4 million, or 28 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding restructuring charges, the company posted profit of 74 cents per share.

By that measure, analysts expected earnings of 63 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The Baton Rouge, La., company said revenue rose 19.3% to $580.3 million. Analysts expected $553.4 million in revenue.