OM Group 2Q profit climbs 22 percent; stock rises

CLEVELAND - Industrial chemicals and materials company OM Group Inc. said Thursday its second-quarter profit rose 22 percent, helped by gains from acquisitions, higher prices and stronger sales. Shares of the company jumped nearly 18 percent. Net income for the three months ended June 30 grew to $56.2 million, or $1.85 per share, from $46 million, or $1.52 per share, in the same period of 2007. Sales more than doubled to $510.8 million, from $231.3 million a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, expected quarterly earnings of $1.80 per share on revenue of $494.4 million. Those predictions typically exclude one-time items. The results included $77 million from OM Group's newly acquired coatings and electronic technologies businesses. Excluding those acquisitions, revenue soared 88 percent due to... [read full story]