MNCs get off to a good start in the first quarter

Recently, a number of foreign chemical companies announced their first-quarter financial reports this year. Judging from the financial reports, despite the double negative impact of the European geopolitical conflict and the global COVID-19 epidemic on the supply chain and the market, the performance of multinational companies is still dominated by growth, and only a few companies have experienced a decline in net profit.

In the first quarter of 2022, Evonik's sales increased significantly, and the company started well, and its performance far exceeded market expectations. In the current period, Evonik's sales increased by 34% year-on-year to 4.5 billion euros; adjusted net income increased by 49% to 356 million euros; free cash flow reached 133 million euros; adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased 25% to 735 million euros. Ute Wolf, Chief Financial Officer of Evonik, pointed out: "The increase in costs, especially the cost of raw materials, has led to an increase in the value of inventories. In addition, we have also increased inventories to prepare for possible supply chain disruptions." Director of Evonik Industrial Group Chang Kuromant also said: "Thanks to the increase in the selling price of products in all business units, we have successfully offset the impact of the increase in variable costs. Despite the many market uncertainties and obstacles to business development, we still A good start. Building on a strong start to the first quarter, we are confident that we can achieve our full-year targets if the current geopolitical situation does not deteriorate further.”

Since January 1, DSM has completed its business reorganization. The restructured business consists of three business groups: Animal Nutrition and Health Care, Human Nutrition and Care, Food Nutrition and Technology, and innovative businesses. DSM's first-quarter 2022 results showed sales growth of 18% and adjusted EBITDA growth of 10%. Jielan Ma and Friede, co-CEOs of DSM, said: “DSM has started the year well with strong business demand and effective pricing measures offsetting inflation in the value chain. Thanks to the market’s favourable focus on innovation and sustainable development solutions, and DSM’s own ability to implement effective pricing, we maintain our full-year outlook.”

Looking ahead to 2022, DSM expects high-single-digit growth in Adjusted EBITDA for its Health, Nutrition and Biosciences businesses. For the group as a whole, adjusted EBITDA is expected to grow in the mid-single digits, and adjusted net operating free cash flow is expected to grow in the high-single digits. This outlook is based on DSM's strong performance in 2021 and a stable expectation of adjusted EBITDA for the Materials business.

U.S. specialty chemicals maker Ashland said it expects second-quarter sales to rise 19 percent year-on-year to $604 million; net profit is expected to total $38 million, down 7.3 percent year-on-year. Continued strong demand, higher prices and an improved product mix boosted profit and sales in the quarter, the company said. Guillermo Novo, chairman and CEO of Ashland, said: "We expect underlying demand to remain strong and continue to act to build inventories to ease supply chain and transportation challenges. Pricing and other measures should be able to cover With the current cost increases, we are prepared to take further action to cover any additional cost increases. The sales outlook and adjusted EBITDA for the current fiscal year remain unchanged due to the resilience of our portfolio and the end markets we serve."

Bayer's first-quarter 2022 earnings report also showed a good start. In the first quarter, the Bayer Group's sales rose by 14.3% to 14.639 billion euros; EBITDA increased by 27.5% to 5.251 billion euros; net income was 32.91 euros. Among them, the profit of the Crop Science division increased by about 50%, and the sales of the prescription drug business increased by 2.6%. Self-care product sales rose 17.2%.

In the first quarter of 2022, AkzoNobel achieved sales of 2.525 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 12%; operating profit was 232 million euros, a year-on-year decrease of 23%; net profit attributable to the parent was 154 million euros, a year-on-year decrease of 29.03%. The decline in net profit was mainly due to rising raw material prices and freight costs.