LANXESS seeks emerging market dividend

17 September 2008 14:03  [Source: ICIS news]

COLOGNE (ICIS news)--LANXESS' strategy of investing in high-growth emerging markets was compensating for the slowdown in North America and Western Europe, while its technology-driven portfolio had enabled it to pass on surging raw materials costs, it said on Wednesday. 
 
LANXESS this year invested €400m ($563m) in a new 100,000 tonne/year butyl rubber plant in Singapore, and acquired a 70% stale in Latin America’s largest rubber producer Petroflex, which has about 440,000 tonnes/year of capacity. 
 
The Asia-Pacific region has an annual growth rate for passenger cars and commercial vehicles of 7.8%, far above lagging demand in the North America automotive industry.
 
“The declining American market will, of course, be a very real challenge for us,” said Heitman at the engineering plastic maker's media day.
 
“However, the expansion of our global footprint to the BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China and Asia-Pacific markets gives us stability, provides new opportunities for growth and helps us attain sustainable success."
 
“The global economy is not looking all that rosy,” added Heitmann.

“The world’s business press is full of gloom and doom, talking of slowdowns, recession, financial crisis, the erratic US dollar, massive increases in raw materials, even the end of China’s boom years.”
 
The group's aim of having no businesses left with sub-5% EBITDA margins in 2009 was on course to be met in 2008 along with other financial targets, he added. 
 
It was also targeting a pre-exceptionals full-year EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of €700m in 2008.

($1 = €0.71)

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