Germany Altana eyes 2015 sales growth of up to 5% on stable economy

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The specialty chemicals Group ALTANA achieved significant growth in sales and earnings in the 2014 fiscal year, said the company in its press release.

Sales amounted to around EUR2 billion, corresponding to an increase of 11% year-over-year.

The acquisition of Rockwood's rheology business, concluded on October 1, 2013, significantly contributed to this double-digit growth. Altogether, acquisitions comprised a total of 7 percent of the Group's sales growth. Adjusted for these effects and minor negative exchange rate effects, operating sales increased by 4 percent, primarily due to higher sales volumes.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) grew by 18 percent, amounting to EUR397 million. At 20.4 percent, the EBITDA margin therefore reflects a clear margin expansion compared to the previous year (19.0%). "2014 was a strong year for ALTANA," stated Dr. Matthias L. Wolfgruber, CEO of ALTANA AG. "We are well on track to continue on our path of profitable growth."

In 2014, the ALTANA Group increased sales in all of its three core regions. At 20 percent, the Group achieved its highest growth rate in the Americas, particularly driven by the integration of the rheology activities. Sales in the U.S. were boosted by 26 percent. With a 19 percent share in total sales, the U.S. is ALTANA's largest single market. Adjusted for acquisition and exchange rate effects, operating sales growth in the Americas reached 4 percent, and 8 percent in the U.S. With a 5 percent increase, ALTANA's highest operating growth was achieved in Asia. The region accounted for 30 percent of Group sales. Accounting for 41 percent of Group sales, Europe continues to be ALTANA's most important sales region. Here, sales grew by 7 percent. Operating sales in Europe and in the company's German home market rose by 2 percent.

The Group's growth is also reflected in its headcount. At the end of 2014, the number of employees working for the ALTANA Group exceeded 6,000 for the first time.

As MRC informed before, Altana has acquired two companies in Brazil in December 2015. As a result, Altana’s Actega division - which produces specialty coatings, sealants, printing inks, and adhesives for the rigid and flexible packaging industry – will now have its own sites in South America's largest country. Both of the acquired companies are owner-operated and headquartered in the federal state of Sao Paulo.

Altana is headquartered in Wesel, a town on the Rhine river, north of Dusseldorf and close to the Dutch border. The company is controlled by billionaire investor Susanne Klatten, who is reported to be Germany's richest woman.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lanxess A.G. intends to restructure its EPDM and neodymium-based performance butadiene rubber production, affecting about 140 employees worldwide, said Rubbernews.

The German specialty chemicals producer will halt EPDM rubber production at its facility in Marl, Germany, and will realign both its EPDM and Nd-PBR production to four strategic regional facilities.

These moves are part of Lanxess’ three-phased realignment program, which began in August 2014, and were disclosed when it reported its financials for fiscal 2014. The German specialty chemicals producer reported net income of about USD50.1 million, a significant improvement compared to its net loss of about USD169.6 million in 2013.

Sales declined 3.5% to about USD9.6 billion in 2014.

Lanxess said its EPDM rubber production unit is the smallest in Europe and least competitive, with comparably higher feedstock and higher energy costs. The firm intends to shift production volumes to its facilities in Changzhou, China; and Geleen, Netherlands, to limit the loss of sales.

The firm also produces EPDM in Orange, Texas, and in Triunfo, Brazil. Once the realignment is complete, Lanxess will operate one EPDM facility each in North America, South America, Europe and China.

The firm said about 120 employees will be affected at Marl. Negotiations with employee representatives will start immediately, with Lanxess aiming to find "fair and mutually acceptable solutions" for all affected.

Lanxess said it will relocate Nd-PBR production from its site in Port-Jerome, France, to its sites in Singapore and Dormagen, Germany, and also will reduce production at its Orange facility to three lines from four. The Port-Jerome facility will be used in the future to manufacture other butadiene rubber grades.

The company also produces the material at Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Brazil. After the realignment, the firm will operate one Nd-PBR facility in each region. Lanxess projects only about 20 employees will be affected by its Nd-PBR realignment.

The firm anticipates exceptional charges of about USD58.7 million associated with the reorganization of its EPDM and Nd-PBR production network along with annual savings of about USD21.3 million from the end of 2016.

Lanxess confirmed again that it is in talks with potential partners regarding the formation of alliances or joint ventures for its synthetic rubber business. A spokesman said earlier that the company is evaluating different strategic options for its synthetic rubber business as part of the third phase of its realignment program.

The firm said it is possible it will report on developments in the second half of 2015.

Lanxess is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 8.3 billion in 2013 and roughly 17,300 employees in 31 countries. The company is currently represented at 52 production sites worldwide. The core business of Lanxess is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Germany's Wacker Chemie said will increase its 2014 dividend to 1.50 euros (USD1.59) from EUR0.50 following a marked increase in sales and earnings, but full-year net profit is expected to fall below the 2014 figure due to lower special income and a tax rate of slightly more than 50%, the company said in its press release.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization are expected to rise only modestly, while sales should increase by a high-single-digit percentage range. The Ebitda margin, on the other hand, will be lower, largely due to start-up costs for the company's new production site in Charleston, Tennessee, U.S.

Wacker said that demand in the first two months of the year was solid, with sales across all divisions beating prior-figures. The chemical company forecasts that first-quarter sales will rise to EUR1.3 billion from EUR1.16 billion a year earlier.

"We want to continue 2014's upward trend and achieve sales of more than EUR5 billion for the first time in the company's history," said Chief Executive Rudolf Staudigl.

As MRC reported earlier, Wacker Chemie AG launched its new production plant for ethylene-vinyl-acetate copolymer (EVA) dispersions at its Ulsan site in South Korea. The additional 40,000 tonnes from the second reactor line increases the site's EVA-dispersion capacity to a total of 90,000 tonnes per year. The production capacity of the site, thus, almost doubled, making the plant complex one of the biggest of its kind in South Korea.

Wacker Chemie AG is a worldwide operating company in the chemical business, founded 1914. The company is controlled by the Wacker-family holding more than 50 percent of the shares. The corporation is operating more than 25 production sites in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The product range includes silicone rubbers, polymer products like ethylene vinyl acetate redispersible polymer powder, chemical materials, polysilicon and wafers for semiconductor industry.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Russia's demand of bottle grade polycarbonate (PC) were only 116 tonnes in January-February 2015, down 78% in the same time year on year, according to MRC DataScope report.

PC bottle sector in the Russian market completely depends on import supplies from Asia. So, with the strengthening of the dollar on world markets and the devaluation of the rouble, the domestic prices of Korean granules have been continuously growing.

Despite the fact that the price for Asian PC began to decline on lower oil prices and feedstock, large stock inventories are still available in the Russian market since the last fall. They were bought at a higher price than that is now offered now by the producers. Traders can not sell these residues because it will be at their loss. In addition, market players said, the effective demand in the segment now has dropped significantly. Converters had to use recyclable materials.

Imports of bottle grade PC in Russia will be resumed in the case of stabilising the national currency and revival of effective demand.
Perhaps of greater interest for the local converters will make European PC, as because in case of the the parity currency value, it may be cheaper than Asian material.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Russian companies increased production of finished polymer goods in February.
Production of polymer products in the first two months of the year increased by 9.5%, according to MRC analysts.

February's output of the key products made from the polymers in Russia rose by 9.8% compared with the January level. Local producers of pipes and films significantly increased their production volumes, while the output of plastic windows and sheets remain low.

According to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, the February production of unreinforced and noncombined films decreased to 92,900 tonnes, compared to 74,500 tonnes in January 2014. The output of unreinforced and noncombined films over the first two months of this year totalled 167,800 tonnes, up 22.7% year on year.

February production of plates and sheets in Russia were 16,900 tonnes, compared to 17,000 tonnes in January.
Production of plates and sheets in January-February 2015 totalled 38,800 tonnes, up 20.7% year on year.

February production of plastic pipes, hoses and fittings in the country was to 26,300 tonnes, while in January it was 21,900 tonnes. Russia's output of plastic pipes in January - February 2015 totalled 48,200 tonnes, down 12.9% year on year.

February production of plastic windows and window sills rose to 1 million square meters, compared to 1.1 million square meters in January. During the first two months of the year, the total production of these products were 2.1 million square meters, which is 17.3% lower than in the same time in 2014.
MRC