NEW YORK and LONDON, September 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

ICIS Chemical Business is pleased to announce that US-based Eastman Chemical has been named the ICIS Company of the Year.

The selection was based on margin performance and year-on-year growth in a number of financial metrics in 2013.

"We congratulate Eastman Chemical and CEO Mark Costa for outstanding growth in profits and sales in 2013, as well as operating margins," said Joseph Chang, Global Editor of ICIS Chemical Business.

"Eastman appears to have successfully integrated its July 2013 acquisition of Solutia. And its planned acquisition of global amines producer Taminco for $2.8bn announced in September 2014 could set the stage for further profit growth," he added.

Eastman posted 15.4% higher sales of $9.35bn in 2013, while operating profit more than doubled to $1.86bn. Net income surged 167% to $1.17bn.

"Due to the strength of our core businesses and strong cash generation, Eastman has delivered four consecutive years of earnings growth and we are on track to continue growing in 2014," said Mark Costa, chairman and CEO of Eastman Chemical.

"Our strong financial position gives us the flexibility to pursue organic growth opportunities as well as add attractive businesses to our portfolio that leverage world-class technology platforms and strengthen our leading market positions. I remain confident that we will continue to create value and deliver growth in the years to come," he added.

The ICIS Company of the Year award is made for outstanding financial performance in 2013 and based on a detailed analysis of critical financial measures and ratios and the data collected for the ICIS Top 100 Chemical Companies - a listing of the world's major producers published in the September 8, 2014 issue of ICIS Chemical Business.

Download the ICIS Company of the Year article at http://www.icis.com/Top100Chem

A PDF of the ICIS Top 100 Chemical Companies is also available for download at http://www.icis.com/Top100Chem

Subscribe to ICIS Chemical Business at http://www.icis-subs.com to make sense of global chemical price trends.

About ICIS

ICIS Chemical Business is part of ICIS.  ICIS is the world's largest petrochemical market information provider and has fast-growing energy and fertilizer divisions. Our aim is to give companies in global commodities markets a competitive advantage by delivering trusted pricing data, high-value news, analysis and independent consulting, enabling our customers to make better-informed trading and planning decisions. We have more than 30 years' experience in providing pricing information, news, analysis and consulting to buyers, sellers and analysts.

With a global staff of more than 800, ICIS has employees based in Houston, Washington, New York, London, Montpellier, Dusseldorf, Karlsruhe, Milan, Mumbai, Singapore, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Yantai, Tokyo, Perth. ICIS is a division of Reed Business Information, part of Reed Elsevier Plc.

For editorial inquiries, contact:
Joseph Chang
Global Editor, ICIS Chemical Business
T: +1-212-791-4224
joseph.chang@icis.com

Will Beacham
Deputy Editor, London Bureau Chief, ICIS Chemical Business
T: +44(0)20-8652-8683
will.beacham@icis.com

For commercial inquiries, contact:
John Hill
Global Sales Manager - Content Marketing and Advertising
ICIS Chemical Business
T: +44(0)20-8652-3893
john.hill@icis.com

SOURCE ICIS