MOSCOW (MRC) -- Altana (Wesel, Germany) says that net profits in the first half of 2020 declined 24% year on year (YOY), to EUR72 million (USD85 million) on 7% lower YOY sales, to EUR1.08 billion, reported Chemweek.
This was primarily due to a big decrease in demand in various industrial areas, above all the automotive sector, the company says. EBITDA and EBIT fell by 9% ad 17%, to EUR202 million and EUR124 million, respectively. Second-quarter figures have not been disclosed.
Only Actega, the company’s division producing specialty coatings, sealants, printing inks, and adhesives, recorded growth in sales, up 9% YOY, to EUR200 million. BYK, producing additives and instruments, saw a 6% YOY decrease in sales, to EUR504 million. Sales of the company’s Eckart division, making metallic and pearlescent pigments, fell by 16% YOY, to EUR155 million. Sales at Elantas, the division that manufactures liquid insulation materials, went down 12% YOY, to EUR219 million.
The company’s EBITDA margin was 18.7%, broadly at the same level as the year-earlier period's 19.2%, attributed to the positive effect of the measures it implemented to counteract the pandemic’s impact. Meanwhile, Altana increased its R&D expenditure by 3% YOY, within the uncertain economic environment caused by COVID-19, and with R&D expenditure representing almost 8% of sales, it continues to invest above-average amounts in innovations, the company says.
“Our longstanding customer proximity, our innovative and financial strength, and our decentralized structure are important success factors enabling us to safeguard our operating business even in this period,” says Martin Babilas, CEO at Altana. "Our top priority was to protect the health of Altana employees worldwide. At the same time, we not only managed to maintain our ability to supply our customers and provide them with service, but also to continue to invest in the future in a targeted manner.”
Altana expects the global economy to recover slightly in the second half of 2020. As a result, it expects a sales drop in the upper-single-digit percentage range, the company says.
As MRC informed earlier, in February, 2014, the specialty chemicals group ALTANA acquired technologies and customer-specific know-how in the field of polypropylene (PP) wax emulsions from Royal DSM. The products can be used to coat glass fibers which are needed for the manufacturing of composites. They are typically used in the construction industry and the automotive sector.
As in December, 2019, German specialty chemicals company Altana acquired Schmid Rhyner AG, a Swiss overprint varnish company. Schmid Rhyner specializes in print finishing solutions. In 2018, it generated sales of roughly EUR 50 million with around 80 employees. Founded in 1880 and headquartered in Adliswil, Switzerland, with a subsidiary in New Jersey, USA, the company sells its products in over 100 countries worldwide. In addition to protecting packaging with high-quality matt and gloss coatings, Schmid Rhyner products achieve a variety of optical effects. The company also develops innovative solutions for digital printing.
According to MRC's DataScope report, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
Altana is a global leader in true specialty chemicals. The Group offers innovative, environmentally compatible solutions for coating manufacturers, paint and plastics processors, the printing and packaging industries, the cosmetics sector and the electrical and electronics industry. The product range includes additives, special coatings and adhesives, effect pigments, sealants and compounds, impregnating resins and varnishes, and testing and measuring instruments.
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