Wacker Chemie Q2 2024 sales down 16%

Wacker Chemie AG posted a decline in sales and earnings in the second quarter of 2024. The Munich-based chemical company generated sales of around €1.5 billion in the reporting quarter (Q2 2023: €1.75 billion), a decrease of 16%. This trend was mainly due to a significant drop in the production of solar-grade polysilicon. Sales fell by 1% compared with the previous quarter (€1.49 billion).

In the second quarter of 2024, EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) totaled €160 million, down 37% year-on-year (€256 million). This decline was also primarily attributable to lower volumes. The Wacker Group's EBITDA margin in the reporting quarter was 10.9% (Q2 2023: 14.6%). The margin in the previous quarter was 11.6%.

In the reporting quarter, Group earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) totaled €43 million. This is 72% lower than in the same period last year (€153 million) and an EBIT margin of 2.9% (Q2 2023: 8.7%). Net income in the second quarter of 2024 totaled €35 million (Q2 2023: €119 million), which corresponds to earnings per share of €0.58 (Q2 2023: €2.38).

Wacker has confirmed its full-year forecast for 2024. The company still expects sales to be between €6 billion and €6.5 billion. Full-year EBITDA is expected to be between €600 million and €800 million.

“Although a sustained upturn is not yet in sight, we are seeing the first signs of a recovery. Inflation is falling faster than expected, and energy and raw material prices have also fallen back. Order intake in the chemical industry has improved. We are also seeing demand gradually increasing again in some regions. In our Chemicals division, sales and earnings were up in the first quarter,” said Christian Hartel, Group President and CEO.

“In particular, our specialty silicones business has recently developed positively. In our polymer dispersions business, we are seeing a recovery in some areas. For example, demand from manufacturers of consumer goods such as paints and packaging is increasing significantly again. In our polysilicon business, we have further increased the share of polysilicon for the semiconductor industry. Biopharmaceuticals have been a growth driver for our biotechnology business in recent months,” continued Hartel. All of this proves that WACKER’s strategy is bearing fruit, he stressed. As a result, the company further increased capital expenditures in the second quarter. Regarding the company’s confirmed full-year forecast, Hartel explained: “We now expect EBITDA to be in the upper half of the forecast range.”