New record levels for sales, EBITDA and annual result in the fiscal year 2021

Trostberg, 24 February 2022 – Alzchem Group AG, a vertically integrated specialty chemicals supplier with a leading market position in selected niche markets, can look back on an extremely successful fiscal year 2021. Despite COVID-19, supply shortages, extremely volatile raw material prices, severely impacted logistics chains and freight bottlenecks, Alzchem successfully performed as a robust company – primarily thanks to its broad product portfolio and “Verbund production”, which once again proved to be a key component of raw material supply and production planning. Thus, Alzchem succeeded in exceeding the previous year’s figures for sales, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), and result for the period in all four quarters of 2021. Over the year as a whole, consolidated sales rose by 11.3% to EUR 422.3 million (2020: EUR 379.3 million). The two segments Specialty Chemicals (+6.3%) and Basics & Intermediates (+20.4%) contributed equally to this new record figure. Growth in the metallurgy, pharmaceutical raw materials and human nutrition (Creapure^®) markets in particular, flanked by high capacity utilization in the multi-purpose plants, had a positive impact on the sales increase of the Group.

On the earnings side, Alzchem also achieved new highs. The significant cost increases for energy and raw materials were at least partially offset by early stockpiling, production cost savings as a result of the “AlzFit 2025” optimization project, and contractually fixed price escalator clauses. In terms of earnings, EBITDA increased by 15.2% to EUR 62.0 million (2020: EUR 53.8 million), thus reaching a new record level. The resulting EBITDA margin was 14.7% (2020: 14.2%). Consolidated annual result increased significantly by 39.7% to EUR 27.8 million (2020: EUR 19.9 million). Due to the extremely positive business development in 2021, the Management Board and Supervisory Board will propose to the Annual General Meeting to distribute a dividend of EUR 1.00 (previous year: EUR 0.77).

Andreas Niedermaier, CEO of Alzchem Group AG: “Our company has performed very successfully in an extremely challenging environment in 2021. We were able to fully meet our forecast, which was adjusted upwards in July, and thus very significantly exceed our original targets for sales and EBITDA. In addition, we succeeded in commissioning two further major projects in 2021 within an ambitious cost and schedule framework. While the expanded NITRALZ^® production capacities are having a positive impact on sales volumes and revenue development, the new regenerative thermal exhaust air purification plant is making an additional contribution to environmental protection. Our highly motivated and extremely flexible team of employees also made a very significant contribution to the successful fiscal year 2021, and I would like to express my sincere thanks to them for their tireless commitment and outstanding performance.”

The Alzchem Group is planning further growth for the fiscal year 2022. Forecasts call for a strong to particularly strong increase in sales (up to EUR 480 million) and, due to the still uncertain framework conditions (COVID-19, raw material supply, logistics), a noticeably declining to particularly strong increasing EBITDA (up to EUR 68 million). At the top of the priority list are the significant expansion and commissioning of the Creapure^® production capacities by the end of the third quarter of 2022 at the latest, as well as even higher utilization of the NITRALZ^® and Creamino^® production capacities to further drive organic growth. In addition, the aim is to further exploit the potential of the products in the respective markets, to further optimize the product mix, to remain able to deliver at all times and, in doing so, to further secure margin development also through price adjustments.

The Annual Report 2021 is available for download on the website www.alzchem.com under Investor Relations/Publications.