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Management was pleased with the company's record results in the second quarter despite a difficult business environment. The company has worked to increase its global presence, and overseas demand has helped offset the challenges of the U.S. market. Balchem expects rising raw material costs to continue affecting its financial results in the near term, but management stated that appropriate steps would be taken to minimize the impact on operating margins and cash flow. Bear in mind, however, that global economic issues could still affect the company's results.

Quaker Chemical(KWR Quote) develops, produces and markets a broad range of formulated chemical specialty products for carious heavy industrial and manufacturing applications. In addition, the company offers and markets chemical management services. Quaker serves the automotive, steel finishing, heavy equipment, aerospace, tube and pipe and bearing manufacturing industries worldwide.

We have rated Quaker Chemical a buy since May 2007. On July 30, 2008, the company announced record net sales and net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2008. Net sales increased 15% year over year, primarily due to higher sales prices and favorable foreign exchange translations, while net income increased 4.0%. At 41 cents per share, earnings per diluted share were equal to that of the second quarter of fiscal 2007. Operating cash flow increased $14.3 million from a year ago, which led to a decrease in the company's net debt-to-total-capital ratio from 32% at the end of fiscal 2007 to 28% at the end of the most-recent quarter.

Management stated that Quaker Chemical should experience a solid growth year overall, despite the rising cost of raw materials. The company remains committed to making investments in key growth initiatives going forward. Bear in mind, however, that overall customer demand for products greatly impacts Quaker's financial performance, so any downturn in its customers' businesses could negatively impact results, as could any unexpected shutdown in customer production. Continued increases in the costs of raw materials and overall economic conditions worldwide could also affect Quaker's future performance.