China Ruitai International, a manufacturer and distributor of cellulose ether additives for pharmaceuticals use, has posted revenues of $11.2 million, a 32 percent increase from $8.5 million in the same period, a year ago.

China Ruitai is said to be one of the largest manufactures of non-ionic cellulose ether products in China with approximately 28 percent market share. Cellulose ether is an organic chemical derived from cotton that serves as a thickener, stabilizer and binding agent for a wide variety of commercial industries and products, including pharmaceuticals, construction materials, petrochemicals, food and beverage products and cosmetics.

At the beginning of 2010 and continuing in the second quarter of this year, the company initiated an aggressive price promotion targeting potential customers and offering 2009 pricing for initial orders placed in 2010. All this in the context of the company's competitors raising customers' prices, due to a global increase in the price of cotton, the key raw material essential in the production of the cellulose ether additives. As a result of the price promotion, the company is said to have secured an additional 330 customers in the quarter.

Adding to the company's revenues for the quarter, were sales of cellulose ether to their domestic and international pharmaceutical and PVC sectors, which increased 28.4 percent and 38.6 percent, respectively. Primary exports from the company include Hydroxypropyl Methyl Cellulose (known as HPMC) used in the construction and pharmaceutical industries, and Ethyl and Hydroxyethyl (EC and HC) used in the petrochemical industry and for other products in the pharmaceutical industry.

Capacity utilization during the second quarter of 2010 was 75 percent vs. 65 percent in the year ago period. The increase in capacity utilization was a result of increased production on the company's HPMC, MC and EC production lines and subsequent shipments of its products to China Ruitai's customer base.