MOSCOW (MRC) -- Major polysilicon producer Wacker Chemie has reported that polysilicon sales declined 6.8% in the third quarter of 2016, due to weaker demand and ASP declines, specifically in September, said Pv-tech.
Wacker’s polysilicon division reported third quarter revenue of EUR253.0 million, down 6.8% from the previous quarter after two quarters of flat revenues.
Polysilicon volumes were said to have remained almost unchanged versus the prior year period, while average prices declined.
Rudolf Staudigl, CEO of Wacket Chemie said, "The market environment for our polysilicon business was more difficult, with solar customers ordering substantially less material in September than in the preceding months. Since then, however, there have been increasing indications that demand for solar silicon is picking up again."
EBITDA in the quarter was EUR82.3 million and EBITDA margin was 32.5%, both higher than the previous quarter as major capital expenditures ended as its new polysilicon plant in new Charleston, US started ramping production.
As MRC wrote previously, in 2013, Wacker Chemie AG officially launched its new production plant for ethylene-vinyl-acetate copolymer (EVA) dispersions at its Ulsan site in South Korea. The additional 40,000 tonnes from the second reactor line increases the site's EVA-dispersion capacity to a total of 90,000 tonnes per year. The production capacity of the site has, thus, almost doubled, making the plant complex one of the biggest of its kind in South Korea.
Wacker Chemie AG is a worldwide operating company in the chemical business, founded 1914. The company is controlled by the Wacker-family holding more than 50 percent of the shares. The corporation is operating more than 25 production sites in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The product range includes silicone rubbers, polymer products like ethylene vinyl acetate redispersible polymer powder, chemical materials, polysilicon and wafers for semiconductor industry.
MRC