The Swiss specialty chemicals company Clariant will continue to consistently implement its profitable growth strategy during the next three years, as announced by CEO Hariolf Kottmann and CFO Patrick Jany at this year’s Capital Markets & Media Day held in Munich. The goal is, amongst others, to increase the company’s EBITDA margin from 13.2 per cent in 2011 to above 17 per cent in 2015 and to achieve a return on invested capital (ROIC) above the peer group average. Clariant will in future generate more than 70 per cent of its sales with core non-cyclical business units.
In order to achieve these goals, considerable progress has to be made in all four strategic directions. Within the existing business units (BUs), a further profitability increase is planned through performance management and functional excellence measures. Successful innovations will generate new growth opportunities, as demonstrated already by the new products of the company such as ExolitR, a successful flame retardant, or Life PowerR, a high-performance battery material. In addition, increased market shares in emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil will further boost profitable growth.
An active portfolio management will play an important role on the path to a sustainably profitable company. As already announced, with the publication of the 2011 full year results, Clariant will sustainably increase the quality and performance of its product portfolio. In this context, it is evaluating strategic options for BUs, Textile Chemicals, Paper Specialties, Emulsions and Detergents & Intermediates. These options are planned to be implemented during the next 18 months.
Mr. Hariolf Kottmann observed: “We will implement these portfolio management measures with the same speed and determination as that of our activities in the restructuring phase. They are an important pre-requisite for reaching our targets by 2015. At that point, a newly aligned Clariant will be even more profitable and will generate more than 70 per cent of its sales from non-cyclical business units. The acquisition of Süd-Chemie marked a first milestone in this process. We will continue this success story in the next few years.”
The acquisition of Süd-Chemie was an important first step for Clariant. Already in 2011 the former Süd-Chemie businesses contributed significantly to the company’s results. Until end 2013, an additional EBITDA improvement of CHF 90-115 million is expected from synergies resulting from the integration. The transaction will be accretive in 2013, i.e., in the second year after the acquisition. In addition, the transaction was fully refinanced within less than 12 months.