Rockwood Reports Very Strong Third Quarter Results:

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Princeton, NJ - October 19, 2011 -- Rockwood Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ROC), a global producer of specialty chemicals and advanced materials, today reported earnings per share from continuing operations of $0.95 for the third quarter of 2011 as compared to $0.49 for the same period in the prior year. Rockwood’s as adjusted earnings per share increased to $1.06 in the third quarter of 2011 from $0.51 for the same period in the prior year.

Seifi Ghasemi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “This quarter’s superior results are further confirmation of the fundamental strength of Rockwood’s unique portfolio of inorganic specialty chemicals. This quality, combined with our constant focus on productivity, enabled us to achieve a record Adjusted EBITDA margin of 24.1 percent for the quarter. Continued strong volume growth in our lithium, surface treatment and clay-based additives businesses, combined with improved pricing in titanium dioxide and lithium, enabled us to more than double our adjusted EPS for the quarter. All of our business units have improved performance versus last year, and we generated a very strong free cash flow of $135 million for the third quarter.”

The highlights from continuing operations for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2011 are as follows:

• Net sales were $940.9 million for the third quarter of 2011, up 17.4% compared to $801.2 million for the same period in the prior year. Net sales were $2,854.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2011, up 19.3% compared to $2,393.3 million for the same period in the prior year.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $226.9 million for the third quarter of 2011, up 41.3% compared to $160.6 million for the same period in the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA was $667.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2011, up 38.8% compared to $480.7 million for the same period in the prior year.
• On a constant-currency basis, net sales and Adjusted EBITDA were up 10.4% and 32.1%, respectively, for the third quarter of 2011 and were up 13.3% and 31.2%, respectively, for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 compared to the same period in the prior year.
• Net income attributable to Rockwood Holdings, Inc. for the third quarter of 2011 was $75.9 million, including after-tax net special charges of $8.8 million. Net income attributable to Rockwood Holdings, Inc. for the third quarter of 2010 was $38.0 million, including after-tax net special charges of $2.1 million.

  Net income attributable to Rockwood Holdings, Inc. for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 was $228.1 million, including after-tax net special charges of $20.4 million. Net income attributable to Rockwood Holdings, Inc. for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 was $116.2 million, including income of $5.7 million related to after-tax net special items.

• Diluted earnings per share for the third quarter of 2011 were $0.95, including after-tax net special charges of $0.11. Excluding net special charges, diluted earnings per share were $1.06 in the third quarter of 2011. Diluted earnings per share for the third quarter of 2010 were $0.49, including after-tax net special charges of $0.02. Excluding net special charges, diluted earnings per share were $0.51 in the third quarter of 2010.

  Diluted earnings per share for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 were $2.85, including after-tax net special charges of $0.26. Excluding net special charges, diluted earnings per share were $3.11 for the nine months ended September 30, 2011. Diluted earnings per share for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 were $1.50, including income of $0.08 related to after-tax net special items. Excluding net special items, diluted earnings per share were $1.42 for the nine months ended September 30, 2010.

• See reconciliations of net income/EPS as reported to net income/EPS as adjusted at the end of this release for details of the special charges/items discussed above.

Commenting on the outlook, Mr. Ghasemi said, “Rockwood continues to benefit from the fundamental strengths of a focused portfolio of specialty businesses. Demand for our products is strong, and we continue to see solid order patterns across our businesses. We expect to maintain our margins and are optimistic about our prospects. We intend to use our strong cash flow to invest in organic growth and to reduce leverage in line with our long-term objectives.”

Third quarter results, as compared with the same period a year ago, are summarized below:

Specialty Chemicals

Net sales and Adjusted EBITDA increased 17.4% and 22.2%, respectively.

• In our Fine Chemicals business, higher volumes of lithium products, as well as increased selling prices, were partially offset by higher raw material costs primarily in our Metal Sulfides business.
• In our Surface Treatment business, increased selling prices, as well as higher volumes in most markets, particularly in automotive and general industrial, were partially offset by higher raw material costs.

Performance Additives

Net sales and Adjusted EBITDA increased 6.9% and 7.0%, respectively.

• Net sales and Adjusted EBITDA were up from increased selling prices, as well as higher volumes of specialty coatings and oilfield applications in our Clay-based Additives business.
• Adjusted EBITDA was negatively impacted by lower volumes in our Color Pigments and Services and Timber Treatment Chemicals businesses and higher raw material costs.

Titanium Dioxide Pigments

Net sales and Adjusted EBITDA increased 31.1% and 119.0%, respectively.

• Net sales and Adjusted EBITDA were up primarily from higher selling prices and, to a lesser extent, a favorable product mix.
• Adjusted EBITDA was negatively impacted by lower volumes and higher production, raw material and energy costs.

Advanced Ceramics

Net sales and Adjusted EBITDA increased 11.6% and 17.9%, respectively.

• Net sales and Adjusted EBITDA were up from higher volumes in most product applications, particularly cutting tool and mechanical applications.
• Adjusted EBITDA was favorably impacted by lower maintenance costs.

Other Items

• Interest expense, netdecreased $12.3 million in the third quarter of 2011 compared to the same period in the prior year. The third quarter of 2011 included non-cash losses of $3.9 million and the third quarter of 2010 included non-cash gains of $1.2 million, representing the movement in the mark-to-market valuation of our interest rate swaps. Excluding the impact of these losses and gains, interest expense, net decreased $17.4 million primarily due to debt repayments and lower interest rates related to the refinancing of our senior secured term loans in February 2011.
• Income taxes.The effective income tax rate for the third quarter of 2011 was 28.2% and was favorably impacted by a beneficial foreign earnings mix and certain domestic income that was not tax effected.
• Free cash flowwas an inflow of $135.0 million for the third quarter of 2011 and consisted of net cash provided by operating activities of continuing operations of $201.9 million plus special items and other, net of $3.7 million, less capital expenditures, net of $70.6 million.
• Net debt,which is total debt less cash and cash equivalents, was $1,371.3 million as of September 30, 2011 compared to $1,836.9 million as of December 31, 2010. The decrease in net debt was primarily due to proceeds from the sale of our AlphaGary plastic compounding business in January 2011 and cash generated from operations in the nine months ended September 30, 2011.

Conference Call and Webcast

We will host a conference call and webcast to discuss the results of operations for the third quarter ended September 30, 2011 on Wednesday, October 19th, 2011 at 11:00 am Eastern Time. The dial-in number to access the conference call in the U.S. is (800) 230-1059 and the international dial-in number is (612) 234-9960. No access code is needed for either call. A replay of the conference call will be available through November 2nd, 2011 at (800) 475-6701 in the U.S., access code: 216735, and internationally at (320) 365-3844, access code: 216735.

A listen only, live webcast of the conference call will be available atwww.rocksp.com .  Materials for the call, including a PowerPoint file detailing the results, will be available for download on the site on the morning of the call.  The webcast and PowerPoint file will be archived on Rockwood’s website.

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