Philadelphia-based specialty chemical company, Rohm and Haas Co., has announced that it will report second-quarter charges of up to $20 million due to a steep fall in its sales of synthetic leather and gloss lamination products.

The impairment is said to reflect changing business conditions in the synthetic leather and gloss lamination product lines. According to Rohm and Haas, during 2005 changes in the European textile quotas, particularly from developing countries, have resulted in steep declines in demand for European produced synthetic leather, while increases in raw material costs have necessitated price increases to customers, which have been extremely difficult to achieve in that market environment.

The company also announced that during planned maintenance activities at its Deer Park, Texas facility in the second quarter, there were unexpected operating issues, resulting in higher costs and lost production. These developments will result in approximately $15 million in after-tax costs, taking total charges to $35 million.

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