Historic highs in sales and EBITDA in 9-month period 2021
Trostberg, 11 November 2021 – Alzchem Group AG, a vertically integrated specialty chemicals supplier with a leading market position in selected niche markets, was able to seamlessly continue the extremely positive business development of the record half-year in the 9-month period of 2021.
At EUR 311.2 million, Group sales improved by 11.7% compared with the same period of the previous year, thus reaching a new all-time high. The Specialty Chemicals segment grew by 6.7%. On the product side, DYHARD® (lightweight construction, renewable energies and automotive applications) in particular shone, reinforcing the positive trend since the fourth quarter of 2020. Creapure® achieved volume growth of over 40% in the reporting period. Likewise, products from the multi-purpose plants were placed in higher volumes in the specialty and fine chemicals markets. Sales of Creamino® developed at the level of the previous year. At the same time, a 25% sales share with newly acquired customers demonstrates the potential for further market penetration. The Basics & Intermediates segment recorded sales growth of 20.7% in the first nine months of 2021. Demand for the building block dicyandiamide, which has major applications in the pharmaceutical industry, was strong, as was demand for almost all products of the metallurgy business unit and for Perlka® products used in agriculture. The expanded production plant for the NITRALZ® product range has already been commissioned and is making its contribution to further growth.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) also reached a new record level in the 9-month period 2021, increasing by 20.7% to EUR 49.6 million. The resulting EBITDA margin was 15.9%, compared with 14.8% in the prior-year period. The increase in material, personnel, logistics and shipping costs was more than offset by initial price increases as well as strong sales growth and the resulting rise in contribution margins. The result for the period grew by 46.0% to EUR 21.9 million in the 9-month period 2021. The equity ratio climbed from 19.4% as of December 31, 2020 to 21.3% as of September 30, 2021.
Andreas Niedermaier, CEO of Alzchem Group AG: “Building on already very good levels, we were able to generate additional, very dynamic growth. The sustainability of this growth course is shown by the fact that we succeeded in setting record after record in the course of the fiscal year. At the same time, we are increasing our earning power – both in absolute terms and in terms of margin. These successes also give us the tailwind to successfully implement further projects for the future, such as our new product Eminex®, with which we aim to raise climate protection in agriculture to a new level.”
Due to the very positive business performance, the Management Board confirms the forecast for the full year, which was raised in July 2021. The forecast includes significantly to strongly increasing Group sales of up to EUR 415 million (2020: EUR 379.3 million) and significantly to particularly strongly increasing EBITDA of up to EUR 64 million (2020: EUR 53.8 million).
The detailed quarterly statement for the 3rd quarter of 2021 is available for download on the website www.alzchem.com under Investor Relations/Publications.