In 2009, WACKER FINE CHEMICALS increased total sales by 7.4% to €104.9 million (2008: €97.7 million). Growth was largely driven by our chewing gum base business, which was transferred from WACKER POLYMERS to WACKER FINE CHEMICALS effective July 1, 2009. The reorganization strengthens this division’s food segment.
EBITDA rose by 7.6% to €9.9 million compared to the previous year (2008: €9.2 million). The EBITDA margin was 9.4% (2008: 9.4%). Earnings were affected positively by the chewing gum base consolidation, but negatively by the weak fine-chemicals trend.
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Key Data: WACKER FINE CHEMICALS |
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€ million |
2009 |
2008 |
2007 |
2006 |
2005 | |||||
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Total sales |
104.9 |
97.7 |
112.4 |
112.6 |
110.5 | |||||
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EBITDA |
9.9 |
9.2 |
9.5 |
10.5 |
17.6 | |||||
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4.7 |
6.0 |
-7.5 |
-4.5 |
10.1 | ||||||
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Capital expenditures |
12.7 |
16.5 |
7.5 |
4.0 |
13.2 | |||||
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R&D expenses |
4.4 |
2.3 |
2.1 |
6.0 |
6.1 | |||||
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Employees (December 31, number) |
344 |
259 |
245 |
300 |
321 | |||||
In 2009, the division’s capital expenditures amounted to €12.7 million (2008: €16.5 million). The funds were earmarked for ongoing expansion at Jena (Germany) and for the completion of the extended cyclodextrin facility at Eddyville (USA). In May 2009, new capacities came on stream at Eddyville. As a result, WACKER FINE CHEMICALS has boosted production volumes for both alpha and beta cyclodextrins by 50%, and doubled those for gamma cyclodextrins. This enables WACKER FINE CHEMICALS to manufacture up to 7,500 metric tons of cyclodextrins a year, thereby reinforcing its leading position in this growth market.
Production Ramped-Up for Cyclodextrins
At WACKER FINE CHEMICALS, employee numbers rose to 344 as per December 31, 2009 (December 31, 2008: 259).