Comparing Actual with Forecast Performance

At the start of 2025, WACKER forecast full-year sales of between €6.1 billion and €6.4 billion. The EBITDA margin was expected to be on a par with the previous year, while EBITDA was forecast at between €700 million and €900 million. ROCE, too, was expected to reach the prior-year level. Net cash flow was expected to be positive and up significantly on the previous year. Capital expenditures were set to be considerably lower than the previous year. WACKER expected to post net financial debt in 2025 on a par with the previous year.

On July 18, 2025, WACKER presented preliminary figures for Q2 2025 and adjusted its annual forecast. The company now expected Group sales for the year as a whole to range between €5.5 billion and €5.9 billion. Expectations for EBITDA were revised to between €500 million and €700 million. The EBITDA margin was now expected to be well below the prior-year level. On publishing its figures for Q2 2025, WACKER also stated that ROCE was expected to be down significantly year over year and that net cash flow was expected to be more or less balanced. Capital expenditures were likely to be substantially lower than in the previous year and, at the same time, on par with depreciation and amortization. The company now also expected significantly higher net financial debt than in the previous year.

On publishing its figures for the third quarter of 2025, WACKER refined its expectations for the year as a whole. The outlook for Group sales in 2025 was now likely to come in at the lower end of the expected range of €5.5 billion to €5.9 billion. The company now expected full-year EBITDA to be in the lower half of the expected range of €500 million to €700 million, excluding special effects. Furthermore, WACKER now anticipated a negative net cash flow although this was expected to be significantly higher than in the previous year. In addition, the company expected a negative net result for the year significantly below that of the previous year. For the other key financial indicators, WACKER has not made any further refinements.

WACKER closes 2025 with a decline in sales and EBITDA year over year

As expected in the revised forecast, sales and earnings declined year over year in 2025. WACKER posted sales of €5.49 billion (2024: €5.72 billion), down 4.1 percent year over year. This means that sales are lower than the forecast range. This can be traced back, in particular, to currency effects and lower sales prices, with lower volumes also having a negative impact. EBITDA came in at €426.7 million, 42.6 percent lower year over year. This includes special effects of €102.6 million associated with restructuring as part of the company’s ongoing PACE cost-saving project. As a result, at €529.3 million, EBITDA before special effects was in the lower half of the range of €500 million to €700 million expected in the most recent forecast. The decrease in EBITDA was due not only to lower volumes and prices, but also to lower plant-utilization rates. Energy costs in Germany remain uncompetitive by international standards, which had a negative impact too.

The EBITDA margin of 7.8 percent was much lower than in the previous year (2024: 13.0 percent), as was predicted in the most recent forecast. This is due to the effects referred to above.

Net cash flow came in at €-3.6 million in 2025, as against €-326 million in 2024. The figure did not make it into positive territory as the original forecast from March 2025 had predicted. This can be explained, in particular, by the lower EBITDA, which was in the lower half of the forecast range. The July 2025 forecast had predicted a more or less balanced net cash flow. When the Q3 figures were presented on October 30, 2025, the forecast was refined and a negative net cash flow was expected, albeit one that was much higher than a year earlier. The net cash flow that was actually achieved is therefore in line with the most recently communicated expectations. The main reason for the year-over-year improvement in net cash flow was a significant reduction in inventories.

ROCE, at -3.1 percent, fell significantly versus the year before. This means that, while it was not on par with 2024, contrary to what had been expected in March 2025, it was consistent with the expectations in the most recent forecast from July 2025. On the one hand, the deviation from the original forecast was again due to EBITDA. On the other, restructuring expenses for PACE had a negative impact too.

Capital expenditures in 2025 amounted to €465.9 million and, as expected, were therefore well below the prior-year level. Contrary to what was forecast, CAPEX were, at the same time, well below depreciation and amortization of €606.4 million. In March 2025, capital expenditures were forecast to be well below the prior-year level and, at the same time, above depreciation and amortization, which was expected to amount to slightly more than €500 million. Expectations relating to capital expenditures were revised in July 2025. They were now expected to be well below the prior-year level and, at the same time, on par with depreciation and amortization.

At year-end, WACKER recognized net financial debt of €885.7 million. In March 2025, WACKER had anticipated that net financial debt would match the 2024 level. In its revised forecast from July 2025, the company announced that it expected net debt to be significantly higher year over year. This means that actual net financial debt is up considerably year over year (2024: €-690.6 million), as recently forecast.