The strong performance of Lansheng lays a solid foundation

Lansheng has strong performance in 2018, laying a solid foundation for the new financial year. Sales increased by 10.2% year-on-year to 7.197 billion euros, EBITDA in the regular business increased by 9.8% to 1.016 billion euros, EBITDA in the regular business increased by 14.1%, net income increased significantly to 431 million euros, proposed dividend increased by 12.5% year-on-year to 0.90 euros, fy2019 Forecast: EBITDA within the regular business scope will be close to the same period last year's level of Shanghai. From March 15, 2019 to 2018, Longsheng, a special chemicals company, has a strong performance. EBITDA in the regular business increased by 9.8% to EUR 1016 million. As predicted, the company's revenue is close to the upper limit of 5% - 10%, higher than the previous year's 925 million euros (excluding arancico). "Despite the declining economy, we have kept our promise. In terms of strategy and operation, we have made great progress: Langsheng is now clearly focused on special chemicals. Today, we are more profitable than ever, more stable, competitive and rewarded. "

Chang Mutian, chairman of the management board of Longsheng group, said. The good operation performance of the company is especially benefited from the operation strength of the three business sectors of high-quality intermediates, special additives and engineering materials, as well as the integration of kejua and the phosphorus additive business acquired from Solvay. The EBITDA margin in the regular business scope reached 14.1%. The group's sales increased by 10.2% to 7.197 billion euros from 6.53 billion euros in the previous year. Net income was 431 million euros, up from 87 million euros in the previous year. The reason is that the operating performance has improved year-on-year, and 50% of the shares of alongxinke have also been sold. In addition, a one-time expenditure in the previous year reduced net income. The dividend is increased again. The successful fiscal year 2018 is also expected to bring returns to the shareholders of Lansheng. The management board and the supervisory board will propose a dividend of EUR 0.90 per share at the annual general meeting on May 23, 2019, which will be 12.5% higher than the previous year. 2018 strategic milestone: complete the sale of rubber business. When the fiscal year 2018 is coming to an end, Lansheng has completed another milestone in its restructuring process. On December 31, Langsheng sold 50% of its shares in alongxinke rubber company to Saudi Aramco, a former joint venture partner. Langsheng and Saudi Aramco established a joint venture, arangxinke, on April 1, 2016. The sale of shares in alongxinke has generated about 1.4 billion euros in revenue, of which 200 million euros have been used to continue financing its pension debt.

Another up to 200 million euros will be used for share buybacks, which will be completed at the end of the financial year. "We have used the proceeds from the sale of our shares in arancico to continue to improve our financial position. In addition, we also provide further growth space for internal growth and acquisition activities, "said Peng Chengmai, chief financial officer of Longsheng group. Almost every business segment performed well. Despite the continuous challenges in the agricultural market, the high-quality intermediate business segment performed strongly in fy2018. Sales reached 2.207 billion euros, an increase of 11.7% over the previous year's 1.975 billion euros. EBITDA in the regular business scope of the business segment increased by 7.2% from EUR 335 million to EUR 359 million. The EBITDA margin in the regular business area was 16.3%, slightly lower than the previous year's 17.0%. In the special additives business segment, thanks to the successful integration of kejua and Solvay businesses, sales and operating performance have increased significantly. Sales reached 1.98 billion euros, up 22.9% from the previous year's 1.611 billion euros. EBITDA in the regular business increased by 28.5% from EUR 267 million to EUR 343 million. EBITDA margin in the regular business increased from 16.6% to 17.3%.

In the high performance chemicals business segment, sales and operating performance failed to reach the level of the previous year due to the weak development of leather and construction industry. Sales fell 6.3% to EUR 1.349 billion from EUR 1.439 billion. EBITDA in the regular business area amounted to EUR 187 million, down 25.8% from EUR 252 million in the previous year. EBITDA margin in the regular business was 13.9%, down from 17.5% in the previous year. The engineering materials business segment uses plastics to make lightweight structures, and significantly improves sales and operating performance on the basis of this profitable business. The acquired kejua business includes polyurethane business, which also makes outstanding contribution to the performance of engineering materials business. Sales in the business segment increased by 15.4% to EUR 1.576 billion from EUR 1.366 billion. EBITDA in the regular business increased by 21.9% from EUR 219 million to EUR 267 million. EBITDA margin in the regular business increased from 16.0% to 16.9%. Compared with the previous year, the performance of all business sectors is affected by the negative exchange rate, especially the weak US dollar. 2019 Outlook: Despite the economic weakness, it is still on the right track. Despite the economic weakness, Longsheng still has a good start in the new year. Langsheng expects EBITDA in its regular business in 2019 to be close to the same period last year. Lanson will release its quarterly results on May 14, 2019, at which time it will detail its profit forecast for the whole year of 2019.