Comparing Actual with Forecast Performance

WACKER achieved and, in some cases, significantly exceeded the targets for 2022 published in its 2021 Annual Report. Fiscal 2022 was the best year in the company’s history, mainly due to the higher selling prices WACKER achieved for its products.

At the start of 2022, WACKER forecast full-year sales of around €7 billion. The EBITDA margin was expected to be substantially lower than the previous year, while EBITDA was forecast to come in between €1.2 billion and €1.5 billion. ROCE was expected to be substantially higher than the cost of capital. Net cash flow was expected to be clearly positive, though substantially lower than the previous year. Capital expenditures would come in between €550 million and €600 million, with depreciation and amortization amounting to around €400 million. For 2022, WACKER aimed to post positive net financial assets.

Sales Forecast Revised Upward after Close of First Quarter

When publishing its figures for Q1 in April 2022, WACKER revised its forecast for Group sales upward, to around €7.5 billion. For all the other key financial performance indicators, the full-year forecast remained unchanged.

Based on the positive business trend in the second quarter, WACKER announced on June 13, 2022, that it was revising and raising its full-year forecast. According to the update published in the interim report for Q2, full-year Group sales were now expected to come in between €8.0 billion and €8.5 billion. At that point in time, EBITDA was expected to be between €1.8 billion and €2.3 billion. The lower end of the forecast EBITDA range already included additional risks in relation to future natural-gas supplies. WACKER took the precaution of factoring in a further €200-250 million in additional costs, on top of the energy and raw-material price increases already taken into account. Without this additional cost burden, the company considered it possible that full-year EBITDA for 2022 would come in between €2.0 billion and €2.3 billion and now expected its EBITDA margin to be slightly higher than in the previous year.

On publication of its interim statement for Q3, WACKER confirmed its full-year EBITDA forecast of July 28, 2022, in the upper half of the range. Accordingly, EBITDA was expected to come in between €2.1 million and €2.3 million. As the levels in German gas reservoirs were high, the company considered the risk of gas supply shortages for its own production facilities to be low at that point in time. Continuing high polysilicon prices were a further reason for WACKER’s updated earnings forecast. The new forecast for EBITDA also changed the estimate for the full-year EBITDA margin, with WACKER now expecting its EBITDA margin to be slightly higher than the previous year. Full-year capital expenditures were expected to come in at around €550 million. WACKER continued to expect full-year sales to come in between €8 billion and €8.5 billion.

WACKER Ends 2022 with New Highs for Sales and Earnings

In 2022, WACKER posted sales of €8.21 billion (2021: €6.21 billion), up 32.2 percent year over year. Higher selling prices were the main factor in this year-over-year growth. Sales also benefited from positive exchange-rate effects due to the stronger US dollar. On the other hand, overall volumes were down somewhat versus the previous year, dampening sales. At €2.08 billion, EBITDA was 35.3 percent higher year over year (2021: €1.54 billion). On the other hand, the sharp increase in energy, raw-material and logistics costs reduced EBITDA by around €1.3 billion year over year. At 25.4 percent, the EBITDA margin was up slightly (2021: 24.8 percent).

Net cash flow, at €438.8 million, was still firmly in positive territory but, as expected, significantly lower year over year (2021: €760.8 million). This decrease was due chiefly to the sales-related growth in working capital and to higher capital expenditures. At 34.7 percent, ROCE was substantially higher than the cost of capital.

In 2022, capital expenditures reached €546.8 million (2021: €343.8 million), well above the year-earlier figure.

At year-end, WACKER recognized net financial assets of €409.2 million (2021: €546.5 million).