The international financial and economic crisis impacted WACKER’s operating performance. Although we reacted to the difficult situation at an early stage and initiated operational and structural measures, sales and EBITDA both fell significantly in 2009 – after having risen for five consecutive years.
Result Impacted by Impairments and Restructuring Measures
Furthermore, earnings were impacted by impairments at Siltronic and by restructuring-related expenditures. We completely exited the solar-wafer business due to the changed competitive environment and strong price pressures. Despite the tough situation, we kept to our polysilicon expansion plans. Almost two-thirds of the Group’s total investments in 2009 were spent on WACKER POLYSILICON.