LANXESS AG significantly increased earnings in the second quarter in comparison to the weak first quarter of 2009 despite the ongoing difficult economic conditions worldwide. In particular, sales in the Asia-Pacific region rose 74 percent to EUR 304 million in the second quarter in comparison to a very weak first quarter, with strong contributions coming from China, South Korea and India. The sharp increase in sales in the second quarter implies the region's share of Group sales has now risen to 25 percent.
The specialty chemicals company posted EBITDA pre exceptionals of EUR 112 million, in line with its published guidance of EUR 100-120 million. The operating earnings figure was down 50 percent year-on-year but rose 70 percent from the first quarter of 2009 due to substantial volume increases, notably in Asia, as well as savings yielded by the ''Challenge09'' package of measures. Another positive key metric for the second quarter was the EBITDA margin pre exceptionals at 9 percent, up from 6.3 percent in the first quarter of 2009.
Sales in the second quarter fell by 30 percent year-on-year to EUR 1.24 billion but rose 17 percent quarter-on-quarter due to a strong rebound in volumes, especially in Performance Polymers. Net income was positive at EUR 17 million after being negative for two consecutive quarters. LANXESS proved again in the second quarter that it is in a strong financial position by nearly doubling its operating cash flow to EUR 157 million from a year earlier and reducing net debt by 17 percent to EUR 719 million from the end of 2008. The improvement in operating cash flow was supported by a strict focus on working capital management.
LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 6.58 billion in 2008 and currently around 14,600 employees in 23 countries. The company is represented at 44 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.
