●Sales reached 3.389 billion Swiss francs, an increase of 7% in local currency
● Excluding special interest and taxes, earnings before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased significantly by 9%
● EBITDA margin excluding special items rose to 15.5%
● Net profit increased by 38% to CHF 211 million
● Cash flow from operating activities reached CHF 102 million
● The development prospects for 2018 have been determined
'In the first half of 2018, Clariant achieved strong growth in sales and EBITDA, and net profit growth was the most significant.' CEO Hariolf Kottmann said, 'Clariant has always adhered to the implementation of the five pillars of the strategy, so in the past few During the year, we saw the steady development of the company. We will continue to enhance our product portfolio by focusing on innovation and sustainable development to further promote growth and increase profitability. I believe that we will achieve our goal by 2018.
Key financial data
First half of 2018 - achieving strong growth
Muttenz, Switzerland / Shanghai, China, July 31, 2018 – Clariant, the world's leading specialty chemicals manufacturer, today announced that sales in the first half of 2018 totaled 3.389 billion Swiss francs, up from 3.132 billion Swiss in the same period last year. Franc. Sales in local currency and Swiss francs increased by 7% and 8% respectively. Organic growth in all business areas, especially in the catalyst and care chemicals business, supported this growth.
Most regions have contributed to good sales growth. In local currency terms, sales in Asia achieved a 12% growth, thanks to a particularly strong sales expansion in the Chinese market. In terms of currency calculations, sales in Latin America increased by 12%, reflecting the recovery of the macroeconomic environment in the region. Sales in North America and Europe increased by 7% and 3% respectively.
Sales of care chemicals and catalysts continued to grow at an excellent rate. Sales of care chemicals increased by 9% in local currency, driven by consumer care and industrial applications. In local currency terms, catalyst sales achieved 22 % has grown substantially, and organic sales growth rate has reached 15%.
Due to the growing demand in the oil market, natural resource sales increased by 4% in local currency. Despite the higher benchmark, plastics and coatings in local currency still grew by 3%. Growth has contributed.
EBITDA excluding special items increased to 524 million Swiss francs, an increase of 9% compared to 482 million Swiss francs in the previous year. This increase is mainly dependent on the performance of care chemicals, catalysts and plastics and coatings.
Correspondingly, the EBITDA margin for special items was increased to 15.5%, which was mainly due to the increase in the profitability of the care chemicals.
Net profit increased from 153 million Swiss francs in the previous year to 211 million Swiss francs, a year-on-year increase of 38%. This increase was due to the increase in EBITDA and the significant reduction in special expenses.
Cash flow from operating activities decreased from CHF 116 million in the previous year to CHF 102 million. The one-off tax payment in Germany basically offset the substantial increase in cash flow from operating activities.
Net debt increased from 1.539 billion Swiss francs at the end of 2017 to 1.707 billion Swiss francs, an increase that indicates regular seasonal growth in the first half of 2018.
Second quarter of 2018 - sales growth, EBITDA increase
In the second quarter of 2018, sales increased by 7% in local currency to 1.667 billion Swiss francs. Business areas have contributed to this strong organic growth, with positive growth in care chemicals and catalysts. Significantly.
Almost all regions contributed to this growth. In local currency terms, sales in Asia increased by 10%, and the Chinese and Indian markets continued to grow strongly. Sales in Latin America and North America increased by 13% and 9% respectively. Sales in Europe achieved a steady growth of 5%. The Middle East and Africa region had the smallest market and sales fell by 10%.
In local currency terms, sales of care chemicals and catalysts increased by 10% and 11%, respectively. With the support of the Oil & Mining Services and Functional Minerals business unit, natural resource sales increased by 6%. The growth of large business units, plastics and coatings sales increased by 4%.
EBITDA excluding special items increased to 256 million Swiss francs, an increase of 10%. This increase was mainly due to the strong growth of the care chemicals and plastics and coatings business. Accordingly, the group-level EBITDA margin for deducting special items from above 15.2% of the year increased to 15.4%.
Outlook – Continue to drive sales growth, profitability increase and cash flow from operating activities
Clariant expects that a good economic environment in mature markets representing high reference benchmarks will continue. There are signs of recovery in Latin America, and emerging markets are also expected to support it.
Clariant is confident that in 2018, sales growth in local currency will be achieved, and the cash flow generation of operating activities and the deduction of special items will increase the absolute EBITDA and EBITDA margins.
Clariant identified the company's medium-term goal as one of the leaders in the specialty chemicals industry. This means that the company needs to increase the EBITDA margin for special items to 16% to 19%, making the return on investment ( ROIC) is higher than the industry average.