Corrected: Wacker Chemie Q3 profit falls 79%; reverses Q2 loss

05 November 2009 07:16  [Source: ICIS news]

Correction: In the ICIS news story headlined “Wacker Chemie Q3 profit falls 79%; reverses Q2 loss” dated 5 November 2009, please read in the second paragraph …Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA)… instead of …Earnings before income tax…. A corrected story follows.

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Wacker Chemie's third-quarter net profit declined 79% year on year to €35.9m ($53.6m), but represented a reversal of its second-quarter losses due to "substantial profitability gains in chemicals", the German producer said on Thursday.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) at its three chemical divisions hit €116m, up 25.1% year on year and also 39% higher compared with second-quarter levels, the company said.

Third-quarter sales fell 14.7% year on year to €986.5m, with earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) falling 65.2% to €82.9m, the company said.

The third-quarter results included a €51.9m investment loss that was incurred when the company exited from a solar wafers business joint venture with Schott Solar, it said.

Compared with the second quarter, sales increased 7%, which was largely supported by favourable exchange rates, allowing the company to record a profit, Wacker Chemie said.

In the second quarter, the company incurred a net loss of €74.5m.

“Our third-quarter performance is an encouraging sign that the economy is picking up,” said company CEO Rudolf Staudigl in a statement.

Product prices during the quarter, however, were still lower compared with the previous three months, Wacker Chemie said.

“There is still uncertainty about how stable the recovery is going to be. So, we must remain firmly focused on cutting costs and improving operational efficiency,” Staudigl said.

For the first nine months of the year, Wacker Chemie incurred a net loss of €33.1m against a €454m net profit in the same period in 2008, as sales declined 15.6% to €2.78bn.

EBIT for the January-to-September period was €87.4m, down a hefty 86.8% compared with the same period last year.

($1 = €0.67)

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By: Pearl Bantillo
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