The demand pattern of the last twelve months remained fundamentally unchanged in the second quarter. Strength in manufacturing and industrial production, particularly in Asia and North America, resulted in firm demand across most of our business lines. In addition, the continued success in our key geographical and innovation growth platforms contributed to a volume increase of 1 percent, relative to the strong second quarter of 2010. Overall top-line development remained encouraging. However, the escalation of input costs, largely petrochemical derivatives and energy, dampened performance. Furthermore, there were several large site maintenance stops in the quarter, resulting in higher maintenance costs and the sourcing of higher-cost products from third parties. Consequently, EBITDA was €220 million, 14 percent below the exceptional level of last year. The EBITDA margin was 16.3 percent. Market share, margin management and unit margin development across our businesses remain key focus elements. As part of our growth and sustainability agenda, we are investing in the conversion of our Frankfurt, Germany, site to a larger membrane-based facility. As well as expanding capacity, this will improve our ecological footprint. At the end of Q2, we also enhanced our technology portfolio in sustainable chemistry after agreeing to acquire Integrated Botanical Technologies’ (IBT) patented Zeta Fraction technology, which is transforming how plant-based chemistry is used. Revenue development Q2 2011 |
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