ALZCHEM GROUP AG - EBITDA slightly above previous year at EUR 17.1 million
- Equity ratio improved from 23.7% to 28.2%
- Sales forecast for the fiscal year 2022 increased
Trostberg, 28 April 2022 - Alzchem Group AG, a vertically integrated specialty chemicals supplier with a leading market position in selected niche markets, reported a very pleasing business performance in the first quarter of 2022 despite the challenging environment. The company achieved new record sales of EUR 129.4 million, equivalent to an increase of 24% compared to the already strong sales in the same period of the previous year. This development was due on the one hand to volume growth across all segments and on the other to successful price increases. Alzchem has thus already succeeded to a large extent in compensating for the enormous price increases for raw materials and energy via the market and in consultation with customers.
The Specialty Chemicals segment recorded a 15% increase in sales in the first three months of 2022, with plant capacity utilization remaining high. Significant contributions were made in particular by the automotive sector (DYHARD® and airbag applications) and higher demand for PCR tests, fresh fruit (including Dormex®) and efficient animal nutrition (Creamino®). The Basics & Intermediates segment increased sales by 40% compared to the prior-year quarter. This was mainly due to products for agriculture, the dicyandiamide product area (essentially a raw material for pharmaceuticals) and the metallurgy business. Alzchem was also able to win new customers in all business units.
On the earnings side, Alzchem succeeded in passing on most of the significant increases in raw material and energy prices to the market. Once again, the company's own Verbund production, in which many raw materials are manufactured in-house, proved to be a key success factor and important pillar. A series of optimization projects, which are summarized under the term Alzfit 2025 and have led to considerable cost reductions and efficiency increases, also had a stabilizing effect. Specifically, Alzchem generated EBITDA of EUR 17.1 million in the first quarter of 2022, up 2% on the previous year's figure of EUR 16.7 million. The resulting EBITDA margin was 13.2% (first quarter of 2021: 16.0%). At EUR 7.7 million, the result for the period was almost on a par with the previous year (EUR 7.9 million) and had a correspondingly positive effect on the development of equity, which grew by a total of EUR 24.4 million to EUR 114.0 million as of March 31, 2022. The strengthened equity also reflects the interest-related reduction in pension obligations. Overall, the equity ratio increased from 23.7% to 28.2%.
Andreas Niedermaier, CEO of Alzchem Group AG: "The new record sales in the first quarter are already a great success and show how reliably we were able to supply our markets. However, the real challenge in 2022 will be to work through the turbulence in the procurement markets. We are making very good progress here and are also already in a position to pass on the cost increases to the market through price increases. Higher selling prices and our good order situation well above the prior year and budget mean we can expect significant sales growth for the full year 2022. We have therefore adjusted our sales forecast upward."
For the fiscal year 2022, Alzchem now forecasts "strongly to particularly strongly increasing" consolidated sales of up to EUR 520 million (previously: up to EUR 480 million). The higher projected upper limit for consolidated sales results mainly from the cost development on the raw material and energy markets. The other forecasts for the fiscal year 2022 made in the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2021 remain unchanged.
The detailed quarterly statement for the first quarter of 2022 can be downloaded from the website www.alzchem.com under Investor Relations/Publications.
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AlzChem Group AG published this content on 28 April 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 28 April 2022 05:03:07 UTC.
