Chemical distributor Brenntag reported Wednesday a sharp increase in second-quarter profit, helped by increased sales, with all regions contributing to the positive development.

Second-quarter net profit was €67.6 million, up 74.7% from €38.7 million last year. Operating EBITDA increased considerably by 9.6% to €167.7 million, the German company said.

Sales grew by 11.2% to €2.17 billion from €1.95 billion last year. The growth was 15.9% at constant exchange rates.

The company's new CEO, Steven Holland, provided an update on acquisitions. "-- we successfully concluded the purchase of G.S. Robins in St. Louis, Missouri a leading distributor and a valuable addition to our North American business in terms of extending our reach and further consolidation within one of our core markets."

"We also announced the signing of a purchase agreement for Zhong Yung Chemical Ltd. in June 2011 which provides us with a significant platform within an increasingly sophisticated Chinese market. There we expect to see long term sustainable growth for Brenntag based on the requirements for further value added services," he added.

The group also noted that Standard & Poor's has upgraded the credit rating of the company in June 2011 from BB+ to BBB- within the investment grade and Moody's from Ba2 to Ba1.

Anticipating further significant growth, the company expects operating EBITDA to be between €650 million and €670 million for full-year 2011.