- Sales up 6.7% on Q3 2017 (at constant exchange rates and business scope) to €2,167 million
- EBITDA up 5.4% on Q3 2017 to €374 million
- A record-high EBITDA performance for a third quarter
- Growth in all three of the Group’s divisions
- EBITDA margin resilient at high levels at 17.3% (17.6% in Q3 2017)
- Strong 18% increase in adjusted net income to €186 million, representing €2.44 per share
- High cash flow generation, with €227 million in free cash flow in the quarter, and significant decrease in net debt to €1,167 million (from €1,372 million at 30 June 2018)
- Outlook for full-year 2018 confirmed
Arkema’s Board of Directors met on 5 November 2018 to review the Group’s consolidated financial statements for the third quarter of 2018. At the close of the meeting, Chairman and CEO Thierry Le Hénaff stated:
“Arkema delivered a very good financial performance, with adjusted net income rising 18% in a volatile global economic environment. In this context, we are proud to announce our best-ever third‑quarter performance, with EBITDA coming in at €374 million, representing a further increase on the excellent third quarter of 2017.
Our high level of cash generation enabled us to keep our net debt well under control at 0.8 times the last 12 months’ EBITDA.
These results demonstrate the quality of the Group’s business portfolio as well as its resilience. Arkema continues to benefit from the quality of its innovation and of its industrial projects in its specialty businesses, as well as the competitiveness and positioning of its intermediate chemicals businesses.”
Outlook for 2018
The global macro-economic environment is expected to remain contrasted, marked by different dynamics across end-markets and regions, geopolitical tensions and high raw material prices.
In this context, the Group will continue to focus on its internal momentum. It will benefit in particular from its innovation in advanced materials, the integration of bolt-on acquisitions in adhesives, its policy of raising selling prices to reflect higher raw material costs and its operational excellence initiatives to partly offset fixed cost inflation. The performance of the Group’s intermediate chemicals businesses should remain globally robust despite the expected gradual normalisation of PMMA in the fourth quarter.
Taking into account these factors and on the back of its results for the first nine months of the year, Arkema confirms its guidance for full-year 2018 to achieve mid-single digit* EBITDA growth compared to the excellent performance achieved in 2017.
Quelle: Arkema
