There was good news for DuPont spinoff Chemours in its first quarter earnings report released Tuesday.
The Wilmington-based chemical company posted a net first quarter profit of $51 million dollars.
It’s first time a Chemours quarterly report has been in the black since it separated from DuPont in July last year.
The company reported losses of $18 million, $29 million and $86 million in its first three quarters, and a net loss of $90 million for 2015.
Chemours President and CEO Mark Vergnano said cuts, including layoffs, and plant closures, contributed to that profit, producing $40 million in savings in the first quarter. He adds the company is on track to eliminate $200 million from its budget by the end of 2016 as part of a goal of trimming $500 million in costs by 2017.
Chemours shuttered its Edge Moor plant in North Wilmington last year – putting 200 employees and 150 contractors out of work. An additional 55 Chemours jobs in Delaware were lost in December when announced it was laying off 400 workers, or 5 percent of its global workforce.
Vergnano also noted demand for Opteon, Chemours’ environmentally friendly line of refrigerant products is growing – helping the bottom line.