- Sales up 2.3% year on year to €2,216 million, supported by 0.7% growth in volumes
- Very good level of EBITDA at €385 million
- Up by 3% relative to the record level reached in 2018
- Driven by the strong increase of specialty businesses (1)
- EBITDA margin of 17.4% (17.3% in third-quarter 2018), resilient at a high level in a more challenging and uncertain macroeconomic environment
- Adjusted net income of €166 million, representing 7.5% of sales
- Strong free cash flow generation of €218 million, in continuity with the first half
- Net debt at €1,770 million (1.2 times LTM EBITDA), including the recent acquisition of ArrMaz and of our partner’s remaining stake in Sunke
- Ongoing portfolio transformation towards specialties, with the planned divestment (2) of Functional Polyolefins announced on 14 October
Arkema’s Board of Directors met on 29 October 2019 to review the Group’s consolidated financial statements for the third quarter of 2019. Commenting the results, Chairman and CEO Thierry Le Hénaff highlighted the following points:
“The third quarter was marked by the Group’s very good financial performance in a macroeconomic environment which remains globally challenging, as well as by the continued proactive portfolio transformation towards specialties, with the planned divestment (2) of the Functional Polyolefins business, the acquisitions of Prochimir and Lambson, and polymer capacity expansions for the 3D printing and battery markets.
Third-quarter results showed contrasting trends between our different product lines and confirm the improving momentum of specialties, notably around the three long-term growth pillars, namely adhesives, advanced materials and performance coatings.
Specialty businesses’ EBITDA rose significantly despite lower volumes, thanks to strong pricing, an improved product mix, a more favorable raw materials environment and the consolidation of ArrMaz. Adhesives’ EBITDA continued to grow strongly, up by nearly 20% at constant scope compared with the third quarter of 2018. The marked decline of Fluorogases weighed negatively however on the overall performance of intermediate (1) businesses, despite the resilience of Acrylics and MMA/PMMA.
In this less favorable external environment, the quality of our results rewards our teams’ engagement and efforts, and validate the Group’s continued strategic refocusing of the business portfolio. The acquisitions we have carried out so far have made an important contribution to our Group’s resilience and performance.”
(1) The Group distinguishes intermediate businesses, corresponding to the PMMA, Fluorogases and Acrylics Business Lines, and specialty businesses
(2) The transaction is subject to an information and consultation process involving Arkema’s employee representative bodies and to the approval of the relevant antitrust authorities
Outlook for 2019
For the remainder of the year, the macroeconomic environment is expected to remain challenging and volatile, with continued geopolitical uncertainties likely to weigh on global demand and raw materials prices, leading to cautious inventory management by our customers. In this context, Arkema will maintain its focus on internal momentum and the implementation of its long-term strategy.
The Group will therefore continue to roll out its industrial projects, its operational excellence initiatives, its innovation drive for sustainable development and mobility, and its targeted acquisition dynamic. In the fourth quarter, intermediate businesses should be well below last year’s level, penalized mainly by a strong decline in Fluorogases. Specialties should however continue to report solid growth, driven by positive momentum at Bostik and performance coatings, as well as the contribution of ArrMaz, whilst technical polymers should be affected by lower demand from key customers.
Taking into account the performance over the first three quarters of the year and while remaining attentive to the development of the macroeconomic environment, Arkema confirms its ambition to consolidate its financial performance at high levels and to achieve in 2019 (3) an EBITDA comparable with the 2018 record level.
Further details on the Group’s third-quarter 2019 results and outlook are provided in the “Third quarter 2019 results and highlights” presentation available on Arkema’s website at www.finance.arkema.com
(3) 2019 takes into account the new IFRS 16 standard.
