US specialty chemicals company Rohm and Haas Inc. has announced higher first-quarter profits thanks to cost cutting and lower raw material costs. However, the Philadelphia-based company warned that the second-quarter could see results falling below average analyst estimates.

Earnings for the quarter were $79 million compared with $63 million for the same period in 2001. Sales were down from $1.6 billion to $1.4 billion, and second-quarter sales are expected to be the same or only slightly higher than a year ago.