Brenntag reports 3.2 percent decrease in sales for fiscal 2024

Essen, Germany – Brenntag published its results for the financial year 2024 which were impacted by a persistently challenging business environment, characterized by strong competition and pressure on industrial chemical selling prices in various end markets. Brenntag consistently drove its business and met its operating EBITA guidance from August 2024 at the lower end. The company also continued to implement its strategy and achieved positive contributions from its comprehensive cost containment measures. However, due to the macroeconomic and market headwinds as well as volume and inflation-related cost increases, both divisions, Brenntag Specialties and Brenntag Essentials, posted a year-on-year decline in earnings.

Christian Kohlpaintner, Chief Executive Officer of Brenntag SE: “Multiple geopolitical challenges and uncertainties as well as a lack of consumer confidence impacted the economic development in 2024. The chemical industry we serve experienced an extended bottoming out of the industry cycle and strong pressure on industrial chemical selling prices. As anticipated, we saw sequential volume improvements and managed to keep our operating gross profit stable compared to the previous year. Our teams made significant efforts to strengthen our operational performance, successfully executing cost containment measures as well as price and margin management. However, due to the macroeconomic and market headwinds as well as volume and inflationary related cost increases, we cannot be fully satisfied with Brenntag’s financial results 2024. In parallel to navigating this difficult environment, we continued to lay the foundations for future success by driving forward our ‘Strategy to Win’. I would like to thank our employees for their tireless commitment and their exceptional work especially in challenging times like these.”

In 2024, Brenntag generated sales of 16,237.4 million EUR which is 3.2% below the previous year. The decrease was due to a decline in sales prices and could not be offset by the higher volumes, which on Group level sequentially increased throughout the year. Brenntag’s operating gross profit reached 4,025.4 million EUR and was on par with prior year (-0.2%) as higher volumes compensated the lower gross profit per unit margins. With an operating EBITA of 1,101.9 million EUR (-12.5%), Brenntag met its guidance from August 2024 at the lower end. The decline in earnings stemmed from both divisions and was due to higher volume-driven costs and inflationary impacts. Earnings per share amounted to 3.71 EUR (2023: 4.73 EUR). Brenntag achieved a strong free cash flow of 892.6 million EUR in 2024. It was below the exceptionally high free cash flow of 1.7 billion EUR in 2023, due to the decline in operating EBITA as well as movements in Brenntag’s working capital.

Brenntag implemented a comprehensive cost containment program throughout 2024 to reduce operating costs and counteract the volume- and inflation-driven cost increases. The company achieved cost reduction of slightly more than 50 million EUR in 2024. In 2025, Brenntag aims to roughly double the savings of 2024, demonstrating its commitment to reaching the goal of a 300 million EUR annual cost-out effect by 2027 compared to the base year 2023.
Kristin Neumann, Chief Financial Officer of Brenntag SE: “2024 proved to be a challenging year for Brenntag. We addressed these challenges early and decisively. Our comprehensive cost containment program is in full execution and is having a positive effect on our underlying cost development across the organization. As part of our site network optimization, we successfully closed 33 sites last year, and we organically reduced around 230 headcounts. We have a clear plan to achieve our communicated 2027 cost-out target and will continue to focus on our cost development with strict discipline.”

In once again highly competitive markets, both Brenntag Specialties and Brenntag Essentials achieved stable respectively growing volumes, successfully continued their strong price and margin management and executed various cost-out measures. Nevertheless, Brenntag’s both divisions posting a year-on-year decline in earnings.

Brenntag Specialties reported stable volumes in 2024. However, a weaker operating gross profit per unit resulted in a slightly lower absolute operating gross profit of 1,173.2 million EUR (-1.2%). The lower operating gross profit combined with inflation-driven cost increases led to a decline in operating EBITA by 11.9% to 446.9 million EUR. The decline stemmed from both Brenntag Specialties segments. Life Science showed a positive and encouraging trajectory within 2024 whereas the Material Science segment remained challenging throughout the reporting year. In the second half of 2024, however, Brenntag Specialties was able to continue the sequential improvement of its gross profit per unit with a stringent portfolio improvement as well as consistent price and margin management.
Brenntag Essentials reported an increase in volumes in all four regions both on an organic basis and including the new acquisitions. However, in 2024 the market saw the strongest normalization in industrial chemical selling prices in a long time. Brenntag Essentials was able to partly mitigate the impact on a gross profit per unit level, which also shows the resilience of its business model and its strong market position. This resulted into a stable operating gross profit on prior year level in the amount of 2,852.2 million EUR (+0.2%). Operating EBITA declined by 14.1% to 780.7 million EUR due to the lower gross profit per unit in combination with inflationary effects and volume-driven increases in transportation costs.