PCC SE: PCC steepens upward curve with significant increases in sales and earnings in Q1 2022

Duisburg (pta030/19.05.2022/13:21) - Duisburg-based investment holding company PCC SE has seen the successful upward trend in its numbers further extended with significant growth in both sales and earnings in the first quarter of 2022. Group sales rose year on year by 65.2 % to € 345.3 million, thus well exceeding performance forecasts. "On the earnings side, too, we clearly surpassed both the very good prior-year figures posted by the PCC Group, and our high expectations for the first quarter of 2022," commented Ulrike Warnecke, member of the Executive Board of PCC SE. "The main reason for this positive development lies in persistently high selling prices, particularly for polyols, surfactants and the chlorine co-product caustic soda."

The PCC Group increased earnings before interest/financial result, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to € 75.8 million, an increase of 111.1 % compared to the prior-year quarter. Operating profit (EBIT) grew by 202.1 % to € 58.0 million, while earnings before taxes (EBT) rose by 322.3 % to € 51.1 million. PCC Group EBT by the end of the first quarter of 2022 was thus already well over half of the total of € 91.7 million generated in fiscal 2021, one of the Group's best-ever years.

New segment structure within the PCC Group

Starting with this first quarter, PCC has reassigned the business units across a new segment structure designed to reflect how the PCC Group has evolved in recent years. In particular, PCC has created two new segments, Silicon & Derivatives and Trading & Services, while reallocating the activities of the three segments Specialty Chemicals, Consumer Products and Energy to other Group segments. The Group structure of PCC now comprises the six operating segments Polyols & Derivatives, Surfactants & Derivatives, Chlorine & Derivatives, Silicon & Derivatives, Trading & Services and Logistics, together with the Holding & Projects segment.

Group segment performance highlights

All the operating segments saw their sales increase year on year. The newly created Silicon & Derivatives segment also enjoyed an extremely successful start due to high silicon metal demand, with the Icelandic production company PCC BakkiSilicon hf. closing the first quarter with numbers significantly better than expected. And in the new Trading & Services segment, PCC Trade & Services GmbH benefited from the high price levels prevailing for basic commodities.

Planned alkoxylates project in the USA

As part of its internationalization strategy, PCC SE is considering the possibility of establishing a production facility for alkoxylates (specialty non-ionic surfactants and polyether polyols) in the USA. With the identification of a suitable site for this purpose, a first milestone in the examination and the possible realization of this project – and thus expansion of PCC ` s core business into the US American market – was reached in the first quarter of 2022. A further site is also under consideration, with the final investment decision still pending. The alkoxylates plant currently under construction in Malaysia, a joint venture project being managed in conjunction with PETRONAS Chemicals Group Berhad, continues to progress to schedule, with commissioning planned for the third quarter of 2023.

Redemption of maturing bonds

On April 1, 2022, PCC SE redeemed the 6.50 % bullet bond ISIN DE000A14KJ43 with a redemption volume of € 16.2 million, and on May 1, 2022, PCC SE redeemed the 3.00 % bullet bond ISIN DE000A254TD7 with a redemption volume of € 14.6 million.

The aforementioned Group financials are unaudited. This quarterly report is available online at https://www.pcc-financialdata.eu.

Profile of PCC SE

Headquartered in Duisburg, Germany, PCC SE is the parent and investment holding company of the globally active PCC Group with its more than 3,300 employees. The Group companies have core competencies in the production of chemical basestocks and specialty chemicals, silicon and silicon derivatives, and in container logistics. An investor committed to the longer term, PCC SE concentrates on continuously increasing the enterprise value of its portfolio companies through sustainable investments and the ongoing creation of new value. The largest chemical producers of the PCC Group are PCC Rokita SA, a major chlorine manufacturer and Eastern Europe's leading producer of polyols, and PCC Exol SA, one of Europe's most advanced surfactant manufacturers. PCC BakkiSilicon hf. operates in Iceland one of the world's most modern and climate-friendly silicon production facilities. PCC was founded in 1993 by Waldemar Preussner, sole shareholder of PCC SE, who today holds the position of Chairman of the Supervisory Board. The PCC Group generated consolidated sales of around € 980 million in fiscal 2021, with its capital expenditures totaling around € 111 million. For further information on PCC, go to: https://www.pcc.eu.

(Ende)