Evonik Posts EUR 15 Billion in Sales for 2018

Polyurethane catalyst and surfactant company Evonik achieved sales of EUR 15 billion in 2018, an increase of 4.5 percent compared to the previous financial year. Evonik President Christian Kullman stated, "Despite significant external headwinds, we achieved our 2018 forecast." Evonik is optimizing its sales and administrative operations to permanently reduce costs by EUR 200 million by the end of 2020. The company noted that EUR 50 million in savings were achieved in 2018 figures. Evonik committed to realizing the remaining savings amount this year. Sales in the company's nutrition and care division, which includes polyurethane additives, reached EUR 4.6 billion in the 2018 financial year. This represented a 3 percent increase compared to EUR 4.5 billion achieved in the previous year. The company stated that this was a result of rising demand worldwide, which brought higher volumes and sales prices. EBITDA increased by 8.4 percent to EUR 810 million in 2018. Compared to EUR 747 million in 2017, this represents a significant increase in performance. The company also announced that it would complete the sale of its methacrylate business to Advent International in the third quarter for EUR 3 billion. This valuation corresponds to 8.5x EBITDA. Evonik stated it would use proceeds from the sale to invest in operations with strong cash flows and attractive margins. It also announced that it would acquire US-based PeroxyChem and construct a new polyamide 12 facility.