The privately-held company does not divulge specific financial details, but said the claimed increase was driven by a demand to cut costs at its customers in the face of strong competition in the organic chemicals marketplace.

PTC develops low-cost processes for the manufacture of organic chemicals using Phase-Transfer Catalysis technology. This can help chemical process companies boost the yield of their syntheses, reduce cycle times, eliminate solvent use and reduce reactant wastage.

"As pricing pressures tightened, competition from China and India increased and pharma/agro outsourcing did not meet projections, organic chemical manufacturers looked for ways to reduce production costs or gain other competitive advantage for existing processes or new processes," it said.

PTC 's sales in 2003 were divided nearly one third each between pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals and other chemicals (including petrochemicals, monomers, flavours and fragrances and other specialty organic chemicals).