AMSTERDAM (AP) -- Chemicals maker DSM NV reported a 10-fold rise in profit for the first quarter on Wednesday due to a surge in demand for its plastics, fibers and resins in developing countries.
Net profit at DSM, which is also the biggest maker of nutritional supplements such as vitamins for human food and animal feed, was euro130 million ($171 million), up from euro13 million in the same period a year ago.
Sales rose 24 percent to euro2.08 billion.
The company's nutritional arm, its biggest, saw sales rise strongly in China and Brazil but operating profits were flat at euro138 million due to the effects of a strong euro.
The company's performance materials arm, which sells the material used in bulletproof vests and fiber optic wire casings among other products, flipped from a euro17 million operating loss to a euro43 million operating profit. Sales grew in part due inventory restocking in the auto and electronics industry, and pricing was strong, DSM said.
At DSM's polymer intermediates arm -- which makes chemicals used in making nylon, plastics and synthetic rubber -- operating profit flipped from a euro30 million loss to a euro43 million profit, with exceptional demand in China.
Shares fell 1.7 percent to euro33.80 in Amsterdam, in line with a sharp decline in most shares on worries about the impact of the Greek debt crisis.
