Sales at WACKER POLYMERS rose again in 2015, climbing 11.4 percent to € 1.19 billion (2014: € 1.06 billion). This increase was fueled by higher volumes for dispersions and dispersible polymer powders and by positive exchange-rate effects.

WACKER POLYMERS grew its sales in all regions. The strongest growth was recorded in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, with sales increasing by 31 percent in each of these regions. Business again performed very well in India in 2015, with the division achieving sales growth of 35 percent.

At € 222.2 million, EBITDA was substantially higher than in 2014 (€ 149.5 million) thanks to higher sales and lower raw-material costs than in the prior year. The EBITDA margin improved to 18.7 percent (2014: 14.0 percent).

New Production Facilities Come on Stream

Investments fell slightly year over year, amounting to € 47.4 million (2014: € 56.3 million). In 2015, WACKER POLYMERS completed new production facilities at the sites in Burghausen (Germany) and Calvert City, Kentucky (USA). In Burghausen, the newly commissioned facility for dispersible polymer powders has an annual capacity of 50,000 metric tons, while another for specialty monomers can produce 3,800 metric tons of product per year. The specialty monomers in question – vinyl neodecanoate and vinyl laurate – are important raw materials for producing high-value specialty grades of dispersible polymer powders. Production at the Calvert City site has been expanded by a new reactor for VAE dispersions, which has an annual capacity of 85,000 metric tons. As of December 31, 2015, the business division had 1,461 employees (Dec. 31, 2014: 1,408), a slight rise over the previous year.

Key Data: WACKER POLYMERS