Clariant with slightly lower sales in the first half of the year

From April to June, sales fell by 3 percent to 1.06 billion Swiss francs, as Clariant announced on Tuesday. This is solely due to the 3 percent reduction in sales prices. Sales volumes remained stable and currencies had no impact.

Growth in the Care Chemicals and Adsorbents & Additives divisions compensated for the expected decline in the Catalysts division, according to Clariant.

Operating profit was also slightly below the previous year's level. Operating profit before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell by 5 percent to 166 million Swiss francs and the corresponding margin by 40 basis points to 15.7 percent. This was mainly due to the absence of a positive effect from a divestment. On the other hand, the ongoing programs to improve performance and lower losses from the discontinued "sunliquid" project had a positive effect on profit.

Net profit in the first half of the year amounted to CHF 176 million, compared to CHF 232 million in the first half of 2023. Clariant does not provide information on the net profit for the individual quarters. Clariant attributes the decline in net profit to special effects in the previous year. At that time, net profit was boosted by the aforementioned gain on disposal of CHF 62 million and a tax effect of CHF 40 million.

Forecast adjusted slightly

Looking ahead to the 2024 financial year, Clariant expects inflation to ease but no significant economic recovery yet. The sales forecast has been revised to "flat to low single-digit percentage sales growth in local currency", a tad more defensive than previously. On the other hand, the forecast for the EBITDA margin has been adjusted upwards by 1 percentage point to around 16 percent.

For 2025, Clariant also expects an unchanged EBITDA margin of 17 to 18 percent.