Wacker Chemie's EBITDA rises 27% for 2007

14 February 2008 08:02  [Source: ICIS news]

MUMBAI (ICIS news)--Wacker Chemie posted a 27% year-on-year rise in earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to €1bn ($1.47bn) for fiscal its 2007 on the back of volume gains and higher product prices, the German company said on Thursday.

“Demand for our products remains strong, fuelled by global growth trends – energy efficiency, climate change, the progressive digitalisation of our lives and the increasing prosperity of emerging economies,” CEO Peter Alexander Wacker said.

For the full-year period, the Munich-based chemical company’s sales were up 13% to €3.78bn.

Earnings growth was double that of sales despite negative exchange-rate effects, the company said.

In 2007, Wacker’s chemical divisions generated full-year sales of €2.1bn, up 7.1% from a year ago. The division’s EBITDA was however down 1.7% to €343m, it added.

The raw material costs for chemicals rose strongly as compared with the year-ago quarter and the company had to digest higher costs for purchasing polymer following a feedstock supplier’s unscheduled plant shut down, it said.

“We consider strong demand to be a key factor driving our ability to continue outpacing world GDP growth,” Wacker added.

Shares of the company were up 3.33% to  on Wednesday at €146.80 on Frankfurt's Xetra exchange. 

($1 = €0.69)

By: Isha Jha
+65 6780 4359

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