Wacker Chemie AG - Annual Report 2008

Biologics...// Therapeutically effective proteins (pharmaceutical proteins) that, unlike traditional pharmaceutical actives, are bioengineered and can help in the diagnosis, cure or prevention of diseases.

Biotechnology...// Biotech processes use living cells or enzymes to transform and produce substances. Depending on the application, a distinction is made between red, green and white biotechnology. Red biotechnology: medicinal-pharmaceutical applications. Green biotechnology: agricultural applications. White biotechnology: biotech-based products and industrial processes, e.g. in the chemical, textile and food industries.

Business Value Contribution (BVC)...// BVC is a financial performance measurement that determines the value created by the WACKER Group and its units once all capital costs have been deducted. BVC is the difference between profit (EBIT) and the weighted average cost of capital (WACC x CE). BVC is a profit variable that is adjusted to allow for extraordinary effects (e.g. sale of parts of the company). This makes it an ideal tool for measuring business performance.

Capital Employed (CE)...// Made up of average fixed assets, assets under construction, inventories and receivables. It is a variable used in calculating the cost of capital (WACC x CE).

Cash flow...// Cash flow represents the internal financing potential of the company, i.e. the company’s solvency. It reflects the net payments received within a specific period, with gross cash flow being the amount earned from operations and net cash flow being the amount remaining after deducting investment expenses.

Chlorosilane...// A compound of silicon, chlorine and hydrogen. In the semiconductor industry, mainly trichlorosilane is used to make polysilicon and for the epitaxial deposition of silicon.

Cyclodextrins...// Cyclodextrins belong to a family of cyclic oligosaccharides (i.e. ring-shaped sugar molecules). Cyclodextrins are able to encapsulate fragrances or release active ingredients at a controlled rate. WACKER FINE CHEMICALS produces and markets cyclodextrins.

Cysteine...// Cysteine is a sulfur-containing amino acid. It belongs to the non-essential amino acids because it can be formed in the body. It is used, for example, as an additive in food and cough-syrup mixtures. Cysteine and its derivatives are a business field at WACKER FINE CHEMICALS.

Dispersible powders...// Created by drying dispersions in spray or disc dryers. VINNAPAS® polymer powders from WACKER are recommended as binders in the construction industry, e.g. for tile adhesives, self-leveling compounds and repair mortars. The powders improve adhesion, cohesion, flexibility and flexural strength, as well as water-retention and processing properties.

Dispersion...// Binary system in which one component is finely dispersed in another. VINNAPAS® dispersions from WACKER are vinyl-acetate-based binary copolymers and terpolymers in liquid form. They are mainly used as binders in the construction industry, e.g. for grouts, plasters and primers.

EBIT...// Earnings before interest and taxes: EBIT is a good indicator for comparing companies’ profitability, since it is widely used across the corporate world.

EBITA...// Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization = EBIT + actual depreciation.

Elastomers...// Polymers that exhibit almost perfectly elastic behavior, i.e. they deform when acted upon by an external force and return to their exact original shape when the force is removed. While the duration of the force has no effect on perfectly elastic behavior, the temperature does.

Equity Capital Ratio...// The equity capital ratio is calculated from the ratio of equity capital to a company’s total assets. It indicates the level of economic and financial stability at a company.

Ethylene...// Ethylene is a colorless, highly reactive gas and a key chemical-industry raw material.

Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)...// GMP is a general term used to describe a collection of rules and stipulations that must be complied with when specific products are manufactured and handled in order to safeguard their quality. GMP Guidelines are issued by bodies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the EU.

IFRS...// The International Financial Reporting Standards (until 2001 International Accounting Standards, IAS) are international accounting standards compiled and published by the London-based “International Accounting Standards Board“ (IASB). Since 2005, publicly-listed EU-based companies have been required to use the IFRS in accordance with IAS regulations.

Ingredients...// Constituents or additives (in foodstuffs, pharmaceutical products, etc.).

Polymer...// Polymers are large molecules made up of smaller molecular chains (monomers). A polymer contains between 10,000 and 100,000 monomers. Polymers can be long or ball-shaped.

Polysilicon...// Hyperpure polycrystalline silicon from WACKER POLYSILICON is used for manufacturing wafers for the electronics and solar industries. To produce it, metallurgical-grade silicon is converted into liquid trichlorosilane, highly distilled and deposited in hyperpure form at 1,000 °C.

Pyrogenic silica...// White, synthetic, amorphous silicon dioxide (SiO2) in powder form, made by flame hydrolysis of silicon compounds. It is versatile in applications as an additive for silicone rubber grades, sealants, surface coatings, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

ROCE...// Return on capital employed: profitability ratio relating to the capital employed.

Semiconductor...// A substance whose electrical conductivity is much lower than that of metals but increases dramatically as the temperature rises. Semiconductors can be modified for a particular purpose by doping with foreign atoms.

Silanes...// Silanes are used as monomers for the synthesis of siloxanes or sold directly as reagents or raw materials. Typical applications include surface treatment, reagents in pharmaceutical synthesis or coupling agents for coatings.

Silicon...// After oxygen, the most common element on the planet. In nature, silicon occurs without exception in the form of compounds, chiefly silicon dioxide and silicates. Silicon is obtained through energy-intensive reaction of quartz sand with carbon and is the most important raw material in the electronics industry.

Silicon wafer...// A silicon wafer is a circular disc with a thickness of between approximately 200 and 800 µm, and is used by the semiconductor industry for the manufacture of semiconductor devices, i.e. integrated circuits and discrete components.

Silicone...// General term used to describe compounds of organic molecules and silicon. According to their areas of application, silicones can be classified as fluids, resins or rubber grades. Silicones are characterized by a myriad of outstanding properties. Typical areas of application include construction, the electrical and electronics industries, shipping and transportation, textiles and paper coatings.

Siloxane...// Systematic name given to compounds comprising silicon atoms linked together via oxygen atoms and with the remaining valences occupied with hydrogen or organic groups. Siloxanes are the building blocks for the polymers (polysiloxane and polyorganosiloxane) that form silicones.

VINNAPAS...// VINNAPAS® is the name of WACKER’s product line of dispersions, polymer powders, solid resins and their associated product solutions. VINNAPAS® dispersions and polymer powders are primarily used in the construction industry as polymeric binders, e.g. in tile adhesives, exterior insulation and finish systems, self-leveling compounds, and plasters.

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