Evonik Industries has released its fourth quarter and full year results for 2009. Sales dropped 18% in fiscal 2009 due to the economic situation, though EBITDA was down only 6% year-on-year.
In 2009 Group sales slipped 18 percent year-on-year to €13.076 billion. However, EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and the non-operating result) only slipped 6 percent to €2.025 billion year-on-year, compared with decline of 34 percent in the first six months. This performance was due to effective cost-cutting and a slight upturn in demand from the summer. Overall, the Group’s EBITDA margin climbed to 15.5 percent in 2009, which was well above the previous year’s level (13.6 percent).
The Chemicals Business Area had fiscal 2009 sales of €9.978 million, down 15% from €11.762 million in fiscal 2008. EBITDA for the Chemicals Business was down only 1% in fiscal 2009. Fourth quarter 2009 sales in the Chemicals Business were down just 1% compared to 4Q 2008, while EBITDA was up 88% during the quarter. The company also outlined its broad strategy moving forward (emphasis mine):
Group strategy paves the way for profitable growth 2009 was also characterized by a strategic realignment of the Group, with a fundamental refocusing geared to further profitable growth and sustained value creation. Following an extensive analysis, in December 2009 Evonik decided to concentrate on specialty chemicals in the future. The Group already ranks among the global leaders in this field. The aim is to enable the energy business to fully exploit its considerable growth potential in collaboration with one or more partners, while remaining part of the Evonik Group. In addition, Evonik plans to combine its real estate activities with those of THS GmbH, creating a strong residential real estate company with around 130,000 residential units. In the Chemicals Business Area Evonik is systematically focusing on high-margin business with attractive growth and earnings potential. Above all, the Group wants to benefit from global megatrends: resource efficiency, health and nutrition, and the globalization of technologies.
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