DGAP-News: Wacker Chemie AG / Key word(s): Annual Report/Forecast 
Wacker Chemie AG: WACKER Expects Sales Growth and Substantially Higher Earnings in 2021 
2021-03-16 / 07:00 
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. 
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  . AT EUR4.69 BILLION, SALES IN 2020 DOWN 5 PERCENT YEAR OVER YEAR AMID THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, WITH EBITDA FALLING 15 
    PERCENT TO EUR666 MILLION 
  . NET INCOME REACHES EUR202 MILLION 
  . DIVIDEND PROPOSAL OF EUR2.00 PER SHARE EQUIVALENT TO A PAYOUT OF EUR99 MILLION 
  . WACKER EXPECTS SALES TO GROW BY A MID-SINGLE-DIGIT PERCENTAGE IN 2021 
  . EBITDA EXPECTED TO BE 10 TO 20 PERCENT HIGHER THAN LAST YEAR 
  . NET CASH FLOW PROJECTED TO BE CLEARLY POSITIVE AGAIN IN 2021, BUT SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW LAST YEAR 
  . GROUP NET INCOME SET TO RISE MARKEDLY 
Munich, March 16, 2021 - As already reported, Wacker Chemie AG's total sales for 2020 did not quite match the 
prior-year level due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. On presenting its annual report today, the 
Munich-based chemical company announced that Group sales came in at EUR4.69 billion in 2020 (2019: EUR4.93 billion), down 5 
percent year over year. Sales contracted sharply, especially in Q2 2020. Although WACKER regained some ground in Q3 and 
Q4, supported mainly by robust construction and polysilicon demand, it did not fully make up for that sales slump. In 
addition to prices and volumes that were generally lower year over year, product-mix and exchange-rate effects also 
slowed WACKER's sales. 
In 2020, EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) totaled EUR666.3 million (2019: EUR783.4 
million). That was 15 percent less than the year before and corresponded to an EBITDA margin of 14.2 percent (2019: 
15.9 percent). The decline was chiefly due to a special payment received in 2019. That year WACKER had booked, under 
cost of goods sold, EUR112.5 million in insurance compensation for the damage incurred following the incident at the 
Charleston (USA) plant in 2017. Adjusted for this amount, the year-over-year decline in EBITDA was 1 percent. 
Group EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) totaled EUR262.8 million in the reporting year (2019: EUR-536.3 million). 
The EBIT margin was 5.6 percent (2019: -10.9 percent). This strong year-over-year rise stemmed primarily from an 
impairment charge of EUR760.0 million that WACKER recognized on the carrying amount of its polysilicon production 
facilities in 2019. In 2020, depreciation and amortization totaled EUR403.5 million (2019: EUR1.32 billion). The net result 
for 2020 was EUR202.3 million (2019: EUR-629.6 million). 
Despite the ongoing risks and negative impacts associated with the pandemic, WACKER expects to post growth in 2021. The 
company aims to lift its sales by a mid-single-digit percentage, primarily due to volume growth. The Group's EBITDA is 
likely to rise 10 to 20 percent compared with 2020. Savings in personnel and non-personnel costs achieved under the 
company's ongoing efficiency programs will have a favorable effect on earnings. On the other hand, higher raw-material 
costs and negative exchange-rate effects are likely to slow EBITDA by more than EUR100 million. Group net income will be 
substantially above last year's figure. 
During the first two months of the current year, WACKER's business remained on a dynamic trajectory. Demand is robust 
across all business divisions, with Group sales and EBITDA both clearly higher than last year. Overall, WACKER expects 
to post Group sales of almost EUR1.3 billion in Q1 2021 (Q1 2020: EUR1.20 billion). Group EBITDA for Q1 2021 is likely to 
be substantially above last year's level (EUR174.1 million), benefiting mainly from strong demand for polysilicon and 
construction-sector products, and from generally lower production costs. 
"Although we are suitably cautious about the coronavirus situation, we have entered 2021 with optimism," said CEO 
Rudolf Staudigl in Munich on Tuesday. "We expect our chemical business to perform well during the rest of the year. We 
expect to see volume growth and positive product-mix effects for chemicals. In our polysilicon business, we also 
forecast somewhat higher volumes and a better product mix. Annual average polysilicon prices are unlikely to drop below 
2020 levels." 
Expanding on the outlook for 2021, Staudigl spoke about the ongoing efficiency program that WACKER launched in late 
2019. In his words, non-personnel cost savings had already improved last year's earnings by more than EUR50 million. On 
the other hand, efficiency-related restructuring expenses of EUR48.9 million had lowered earnings. According to Staudigl, 
in the current year the company already expects to see non-personnel cost savings of over EUR100 million, as well as a 
noticeable reduction in personnel costs. Overall, WACKER intends to achieve annual savings of about EUR250 million as 
from the end of 2022 by reducing non-personnel costs and cutting around 1,200 jobs in WACKER's administrative 
departments and in the divisions' non-operational functions. 
Capital Expenditures 
In 2020, the Group's capital expenditures amounted to EUR224.4 million (2019: EUR379.5 million), down 41 percent year over 
year. 
Investment activities last year continued to focus on capacity expansion at WACKER's chemical divisions. A new 
dispersion reactor came on stream at the Ulsan site in South Korea. In Nanjing, China, WACKER is currently building 
another new dispersion reactor as well as a spray dryer for dispersible polymer powder. These new facilities are 
scheduled to go on stream in the second half of 2022. 
At its site in Amsterdam, Netherlands, the company invested in the expansion of its vaccine production capacity and in 
facilities to produce biopharmaceuticals. At this site, WACKER will produce the Covid-19 vaccine developed by 
Tübingen-based CureVac as soon as the vaccine has been approved. From mid-2021 onward, WACKER plans to manufacture more 
than 100 million doses of this vaccine annually in Amsterdam. 
WACKER also invested in several small- and medium-scale projects for intermediates and downstream products, and in 
infrastructure measures at its sites in Burghausen and Nünchritz. 
Employees 
The number of Group employees declined by around 375 in 2020. As of December 31, 2020, WACKER had 14,283 employees 
worldwide (Dec. 31, 2019: 14,658), thereof 10,096 at its German sites (2019: 10,356) and 4,187 its international sites 
(2019: 4,302). 
Net Cash Flow, Net Financial Debt and Equity Ratio 
WACKER's net cash flow totaled EUR697.7 million in 2020, nearly four times higher than in 2019 (EUR184.4 million). Factors 
prompting this strong rise included a marked reduction in current assets and lower capital expenditures. A special 
payment into the Wacker Chemie VVaG pension fund had the opposite effect, reducing net cash flow by EUR73.4 million. 
The Group's net financial debt fell substantially versus the prior year, totaling EUR67.5 million as of December 31, 2020 
(Dec. 31, 2019: EUR713.7 million). 
WACKER's total assets amounted to EUR6.95 billion as of December 31, 2020 (Dec. 31, 2019: EUR6.49 billion), up 7 percent. 
The largest changes related to liquid assets. Due to higher cash inflows from operating activities and to additional 
bank loans raised, WACKER recognized liquid assets of EUR1.34 billion as of December 31, 2020 (Dec. 31, 2019: EUR545.2 
million). On the equity and liabilities side, Group equity contracted markedly because pension provisions rose amid 
lower discount rates. As of the reporting date, equity amounted to EUR1.69 billion (Dec. 31, 2019: EUR2.03 billion). The 
corresponding equity ratio was 24.3 percent (Dec. 31, 2019: 31.3 percent). To counteract a further rise in pension 
obligations due to the European Central Bank's continued zero-interest policy, WACKER is currently working on a 
fundamental overhaul of its retirement benefits system. 
Business Divisions 
In 2020, WACKER SILICONES' sales declined by 9 percent to EUR2.24 billion (2019: EUR2.45 billion). The drop was 
attributable to lower prices for standard silicones, to reduced volumes and to exchange-rate effects. EBITDA decreased 
year over year as well, falling 19 percent to EUR387.8 million (2019: EUR478.5 million). 
Sales at WACKER POLYMERS fell slightly in 2020, contracting 1 percent to EUR1.30 billion (2019: EUR1.32 billion) due to 
price declines and negative exchange-rate effects. EBITDA of EUR270.5 million was 39 percent above the year-earlier level 
(2019: EUR194.2 million), with positive effects coming from improvements in the cost of goods sold and a year-over-year 
decline in raw-material prices. 
WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS lifted its sales by 1 percent in 2020 to EUR246.1 million (2019: EUR243.0 million), mainly due to 
volume growth in biopharmaceuticals and cyclodextrins. EBITDA of EUR38.1 million (2019: EUR31.1 million) was up 23 percent 
versus the year before because of volume growth and an improved cost structure. 
At WACKER POLYSILICON, sales grew 2 percent in 2020, coming in at EUR792.2 million (2019: EUR780.0 million). The chief 
reasons for this increase were volume growth and a better product mix. At EUR4.7 million, EBITDA was down 92 percent 
(2019: EUR56.9 million). However, adjusted EBITDA - which excludes the special income of EUR112.5 million in insurance 
compensation booked in 2019 for the Charleston incident - increased by EUR60.3 million. Further improvements in the cost 
of goods sold were the main positive factor here. 
Proposal on Appropriation of Profits 
In 2020, Wacker Chemie AG posted a retained profit of EUR1,198.6 million under German Commercial Code accounting rules. 
The Executive and Supervisory Boards will propose a dividend of EUR2.00 per share at the Annual Shareholders' Meeting. 
Based on the number of shares entitled to dividends as of December 31, 2020, the cash dividend corresponds to a payout

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