Arjun Singh
Mumbai, March 31: LANXESS closed fiscal year 2021 successfully. Despite immense increases in energy, raw material and freight costs, the specialty chemicals company significantly improved its sales and earnings.
Group sales amounted to EUR 7.557 billion in 2021, up 23.8 percent on the previous year’s figure of EUR 6.104 billion. EBITDA pre exceptionals increased by 17.2 percent to EUR 1.010 billion compared with EUR 862 million a year earlier. Earnings were therefore within the guided range of EUR 1 billion to EUR 1.05 billion. The good results across all of the Group’s segments were mainly driven by strong demand from customer industries such as automotive, construction, transport and manufacturing. Influenced by significantly higher costs and one-time effects, the EBITDA margin pre exceptionals was now 13.4 percent after 14.1 percent in the previous year.
“We promised that 2021 would be a year of growth – and we delivered this against all the odds. We largely passed on the extreme cost increases to the market. In addition, we accomplished four acquisitions in the middle of the pandemic and thus massively expanded our Consumer Protection segment. All this shows the strength and stability that LANXESS now enjoys,” said Matthias Zachert, Chairman of the Board of Management of LANXESS.
Significant growth expected for 2022 – Matthias Zachert was optimistic about the current fiscal year 2022 despite a further increase in costs. “We expect energy and raw material prices to continue to rise in the first half of 2022. Global supply chains also remain fragile. Nevertheless, we would anticipate further significant earnings growth in this fiscal year.” However, the impact of the war in Ukraine is yet unforeseeable. LANXESS anticipates an earnings jump in the first quarter of 2022 and expects EBITDA pre exceptionals to come in between EUR 280 million and EUR 320 million (previous year: EUR 242 million).
