МОSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik did well in the first quarter in challenging business conditions. Overall, the Evonik Group’s sales contracted by 9 percent to EUR3,106 million (Q1 2015: EUR3,425 million), said the company in its press release.
While demand for Evonik products was stable overall, selling prices declined by 7 percentage points.
Adjusted EBITDA was EUR565 million, 13 percent lower than in the exceptionally strong prior-year period (Q1 2015: EUR650 million). The adjusted EBITDA margin remained very good at 18.2 percent, compared with 19.0 percent in the prior-year period. Adjusted EBIT fell 20 percent to EUR389 million. Adjusted net income was EUR254 million in the first quarter, down 21 percent from EUR320 million in the first quarter of 2015. Net income declined 6 percent to EUR240 million (Q1 2015: EUR256 million).
Capital expenditures for property, plant and equipment were EUR160 million in the first quarter of 2016, 15 percent below the prior-year level of EUR189 million. In the first quarter of 2016, the free cash flow was EUR161 million, compared with EUR179 million in the prior-year period.
Evonik's expectations for global economic conditions are unchanged: Overall the company anticipates slightly lower momentum in the global economy, with a year-on-year growth rate of 2.5 percent in 2016.
In these conditions, Evonik is confirming its outlook for the full year: Following a very successful year in 2015, the company expects to report slightly lower sales in 2016 and adjusted EBITDA of between EUR2.0 billion and EUR2.2 billion.
As MRC informed previously, in 2015, Evonik Industries invested over EUR400 mln in its plants in Germany in 2015. The lion’s share of the funds (around two-thirds) was divided among Evonik’s five-largest sites in Germany: Marl (hundreds of millions of euros), Hanau, Essen, Darmstadt, and Wesseling (tens of millions of euros at each site). Evonik is planning further large-scale projects in Germany. One of these is the construction of a new plant for production of specialty copolyesters in Witten by 2018 with an investment in the double-digit million euro range.
Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Its activities focus on the key megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. Evonik benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world.
MRC