The firm, which manufactures and distributes materials in sectors ranging from automotive to health, security, as well as food and beverages, posted sales of 12 billion euros ($12.60 billion) for the three months ending March, up 16.4% on like-for-like basis from a year earlier.

($1 = 0.9527 euros) (Reporting by Dagmarah Mackos and Dina Kartit; Editing by Edmund Blair)