Annual Report 2022

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Creating tomorrow’s solutions

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.

Comparing Actual with Forecast Performance

 

 

 

Key Financial Performance Indicators

 

Results
in 2021

 

Forecast
March 2022

 

Forecast
April 2022

 

Forecast
July 2022

 

Forecast
October 2022

 

Results
in 2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EBITDA margin (%)

 

24.8

 

Substantially lower than last year

 

 

On par with last year

 

Slightly higher than last year

 

25.4

EBITDA (€ million)

 

1,538.5

 

€1.2 –
1.5 billion

 

 

€1.8 –
2.3 billion

 

€2.1 –
2.3 billion

 

2,080.9

ROCE (%)

 

28.3

 

Substantially higher than cost of capital

 

 

 

 

34.7

Net cash flow (€ million)

 

760.8

 

Clearly positive, substantially lower than last year

 

 

 

 

438.8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplementary Financial Performance Indicators

Sales (€ million)

 

6,207.5

 

Around
€7.0 billion

 

Around
€7.5 billion

 

€8.0 –
8.5 billion

 

 

8,209.3

Capital expenditures (€ million)

 

343.8

 

€550 –
600 million

 

 

 

Around
€550 million

 

546.8

Net financial assets (€ million)

 

546.5

 

Positive net financial assets

 

 

 

 

409.2

Depreciation/
amortization (€ million)

 

404.2

 

Around
€400 million

 

 

 

 

402.1

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).

Expenses by Cost Type

 

% of sales

 

2022

 

2021

 

 

 

 

 

Personnel costs

 

19.5

 

23.9

Raw-material costs

 

29.9

 

28.9

Energy costs

 

10.1

 

5.61

Depreciation/amortization

 

4.9

 

6.5

1

Updated definition of energy costs takes into account both the cost of on-site generation and relevant subsidies

EBITDA
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Net Cash Flow
Net cash flow is defined as the sum of cash flow from operating activities and cash flow from long-term investing activities (excluding securities).
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.
Return on Capital Employed (ROCE)
Return on capital employed is the profitability ratio relating to the capital employed. ROCE is defined as earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) divided by capital employed. Investment income from Siltronic AG and the corresponding carrying amount in equity are not included when ROCE is calculated. ROCE is a clear indicator of how profitably the capital required for business operations is being employed. It is influenced not only by profitability, but also by capital intensity with regard to noncurrent assets required for business operations and to working capital. ROCE is reviewed annually as part of our planning process and is a key criterion for managing our capital expenditure budget.