Covestro, the plastics maker that parent Bayer plans to divest, reported better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter, benefiting from cheaper raw petrochemical materials and higher sales volumes.

The maker of foam chemicals and transparent plastics said quarterly earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), adjusted for special items, rose 22 percent to 574 million euros ($624 million), well above the 506 million euros expected on average in a Reuters poll of analysts.

Covestro now anticipates free operating cash flow for 2016, which excludes money spent on investments, above last year's level, it said on Tuesday. It had previously expected that figure to be flat.

Source : reuters.com