Tillväxt i kemibranschen och lägre polysilikonpriser karakteriserar WACKER's räkenskapsår 2012
Om översättning önskas till svenska, kontakta marie-louise.kaervedal@wacker.com
- BASED ON PRELIMINARY FIGURES, YEAR-ON-YEAR SALES DOWN JUST UNDER 6 PERCENT AT €4.63 BILLION
- EBITDA OF €787 MILLION 29 PERCENT BELOW PRIOR-YEAR FIGURE
- EBIT OF €258 MILLION FOR FULL-YEAR 2012, WITH NET INCOME AT €107 MILLION
- CEO RUDOLF STAUDIGL: "WE ARE PLEASED WITH OUR CHEMICAL DIVISIONS’ PERFORMANCE LAST YEAR, BUT IT COULDN’T FULLY OFFSET THE DECLINE IN POLYSILICON PRICES"
Munich, February 7, 2013 – As expected, Wacker Chemie AG generated lower sales and earnings in 2012 than in the prior year. According to preliminary calculations, the Munich-based chemical group achieved total sales of €4.63 billion in 2012 (2011: €4.91 billion), almost 6 percent below the prior-year figure. The decline is chiefly due to lower prices for polysilicon and semiconductor wafers. Altogether, price effects reduced 2012’s consolidated sales by €700 million, or by over 14 percent. The chemical divisions, in contrast, actually increased their sales performance by 5 percent overall, with higher volumes and positive exchange-rate effects offsetting the impact of price competition.
Based on preliminary figures, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to around €787 million (2011: €1.1 billion) – down 29 percent year over year. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) in 2012 reached €258 million (2011: €603 million) according to preliminary calculations. The WACKER Group’s net income for 2012 amounts to €107 million (2011: €356 million).
The earnings decline is mostly due to the overcapacities affecting the photovoltaic industry. Solar-silicon prices halved over the last 12 months. Strongly growing demand for polymers, however, helped WACKER’s chemical divisions increase their year-on-year EBITDA by some 15 percent.
Investments and Net Financial Liabilities
WACKER’s capital expenditures amounted to some €1.1 billion in 2012 (2011: €981 million) according to preliminary figures. The major part of investments was dedicated to new facilities for producing hyperpure polysilicon. Additional funds flowed into the expansion of production capacities for polymer dispersions and polyvinyl acetate solid resins in China and South Korea. Capital expenditures also went into pro rata financing of WACKER’s siloxane-production joint venture with Dow Corning in China. WACKER funded its investments out of its operating cash flow, as well as from customer advance payments and borrowed funds. The Group’s net financial liabilities amounted to about €701 million as of December 31, 2012 (Dec. 31, 2011: net financial receivables of €96 million).
"Last year’s capital expenditures were the highest in the history of the WACKER Group," said CFO Joachim Rauhut. "By investing in particularly capital-intensive plants, we reinforced our strategic footing as one of the market leaders in silicon and silicone chemistry. These investments are now largely complete. That’s why we expect our 2013 investments to come down by almost 50 percent compared to 2012, thus approaching our level of depreciation which is at €550 million. This will significantly benefit our cash flow."
Business Performance in Q4 2012
During Q4 2012, the WACKER Group’s business was shaped by the usual seasonal influences and by persistent price pressure on poly-silicon and semiconductor wafers. In total, Group sales from October through December 2012 amounted to €1.02 billion (Q4 2011: €1.01 billion). Sales were thus in line with the previous year’s level. The Group’s fourth-quarter EBITDA reached €130 million, an increase of about 17 percent year over year (Q4 2011: €111 million).
The chemical divisions continued to perform well between October and December 2012, posting higher sales as well as higher earnings compared with the prior year. Their sales in Q4 2012 totaled €647 million (Q4 2011: €606 million). This rise of just under 7 percent stemmed in part from somewhat higher volumes than in 2011, and from positive exchange-rate effects. EBITDA at the chemical divi-sions amounted to roughly €44 million in Q4 2012 – an increase of €20 million from a year ago (Q4 2011: €24 million). "We are pleased with our chemical divisions’ performance last year, especially in poly-mer products," said CEO Rudolf Staudigl. "Last year’s sales and earnings growth in these divisions underscores their stability and effectiveness."
Semiconductor sales were slightly higher in the fourth quarter of 2012 than in the comparative prior-year period amid difficult market conditions. In Q4 2012, Siltronic generated total sales of around €185 million (Q4 2011: €180 million). Siltronic’s EBITDA for October through December 2012 amounted to €4 million (Q4 2011: €-59 million). The prior-year figure had been weighed down by obligations of about €50 million relating to the closure of the Hikari site in Japan.
At WACKER POLYSILICON, fourth-quarter sales and earnings were held back in particular by substantially lower year-on-year solar sili-con prices. The division posted total sales of €213 million in the three months through the end of December 2012 (Q4 2011: €256 million) – a drop of just under 17 percent. In the same period, EBITDA fell 53 percent to €78 million (Q4 2011: €165 million). Q4 2012 EBITDA included about €55 million resulting from retained advance payments and damages relating to terminated customer contracts. "In our polysilicon business, price pressure, high inventory levels and the difficult financial situation of many market players clearly left their mark on 2012," explained Staudigl. "Recent weeks have provided encouraging signals indicating additional photovoltaic expansion, especially in China and the USA. That could result not only in improved volumes, but also in better prices for solar silicon in the future. Yet, at the same time, we are still facing the risk of a trade conflict between China and Europe in the photovoltaic sector."
During the first four weeks of 2013, there have been no improve-ments in the conditions underlying semiconductor-wafer business. Taking into account the normal seasonal effects occurring in their business during the winter months, WACKER’s chemical divisions are reporting continued strong demand.
Ytterligare information ges av:
Wacker Chemie AG, Media Relations & Information
Christof Bachmair
Tel 49 89 6279-1830, Fax 49 89 6279-1239
Företaget i överblick: WACKER är en globalt verksam kemikoncern med cirka 17 200 anställda och en årsomsättning på cirka 4,91 miljarder € (2011). WACKER har 25 produktionsanläggningar, 20 technical competence centers och 53 försäljningskontor över hela världen.
WACKER SILICONES Silikonoljor, silikonemulsioner, silikongummi och silikonhartser, silaner, pyrogena kiselsyror, termoplastiska silikonelastomerer
WACKER POLYMERS Polyvinylacetat- och vinylacetat-kopolymerer i form av dispersionspulver, dispersioner och fasthartser som bindemedel för byggkemiska produkter, färger, lim, lacker, putser och fiberdukar samt i polymera material baserade på återvinningsbara resurser.
WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS Bioteknologiska produkter såsom cyklodextriner, cysteiner och biologiska produkter liksom fiinkemikalier och PVAc fasta hartser
WACKER POLYSILICON Polysilicium för halvledar- och fotovoltaikindustrin
Siltronic Wafers av högrent silicium och enkristaller för halvledarkomponenter.
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