L R AS Published on Saturday 19 January 2019 - n° 260 - Categories:company results
Sharp drop in silicon activity at Wacker Chemie
The Wacker Chemie group achieved sales of €4.98 billion in 2018 (+1%): this offset the appreciation
of the euro, lower volumes and lower silicon prices. EBITDA (ebitda) decreased by 8% to €930m. The operating margin was €390m (7.8% margin), down 8% year-on-year.
The silicon division : Sales declined 27% between 2017 and 2018 to €825m due to the shutdown of the US plant and market pressure on volumes and prices. The company does not mention any profit margin, awaiting an insurance indemnity in 2019.
PV Magazine of 18 January
Editor's note If no information has been provided on profitability, it is because it is poor. This remark can be attributed to the plant's shutdown, which therefore caused costs but no income, and also to China's attitude, which is seeking to rule out silicon imports. This will be more the case in 2019, when the ramp-up of new plants in the Middle Kingdom with low energy costs will allow imported products to be replaced. The only hope for Wacker Chemie is to offer high or very high purity silicon that is indispensable to Chinese producers. Otherwise, this division of the group will suffer the situation of REC Silicon which is in the process of collapsing.
