Economy Ems-Chemie increases operating profit with lower sales

The specialty chemicals group Ems may have posted lower sales in the first half of 2024, but earned slightly more. Due to the strong Swiss franc, the sales target for the current year has been lowered slightly.

As Ems-Chemie announced on Friday, turnover fell by 8.1 percent to 1.09 billion Swiss francs from January to June. Currency effects alone depressed sales by 4.7 percent, the company emphasized.

The current geopolitical conflicts are unsettling consumers and companies, explained Ems on the course of business. In addition, lower purchasing power is having a dampening effect on consumer sentiment.

By contrast, the global sales offensive had already generated "excellent" results with profitable new business in the first half of 2024. It was therefore possible to increase sales volumes and the operating result.

Expressed in figures, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose by 4.0% to CHF 291 million. The corresponding margin rose by 3.2 percentage points to 26.8 percent.

Ems now expects net sales for 2024 as a whole to be slightly below the previous year's level. The company had previously forecast stable turnover. The operating result (EBIT) is expected to remain slightly above the previous year. Sales volumes are also expected to be up on the previous year.

In 2023, Ems-Chemie generated sales of CHF 2.19 billion and EBIT of CHF 493 million.

As the company also announced, the current member of the Board of Directors Joachim Streu has decided not to stand for a further term of office due to his age. The Board of Directors is now proposing Kaspar Kelterborn for election as a member of the Board of Directors and the Remuneration Committee.