Clariant reports record fourth-quarter and full-year

Muttenz, Germany – Clariant announced its fourth quarter and full year 2022 results. In the fourth quarter of 2022, continuing operations sales were CHF 1.323 billion, compared to CHF 1.242 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021. This corresponds to an increase of 12 % in local currency and 7 % in Swiss francs. Pricing positively impacted the Group sales result by 13 % while volumes declined by 1 %, with a currency impact of – 5 %. The strong sales growth in Catalysis and Natural Resources outpaced the anticipated muted development in Care Chemicals.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, sales grew solidly in all geographic regions. European sales grew by 6 % in local currency, as prices increased while volume growth slowed. Sales in Asia-Pacific also grew by 15 %, primarily propelled by China with 14 % sales growth. North American sales were 16 % higher, and Latin American sales grew 18 %. The robust advances in both regions were supported by volume growth in Catalysis and strong pricing in Natural Resources. The Middle East & Africa increased sales by 9 %.
 
In the fourth quarter of 2022, Care Chemicals increased sales by 4 % in local currency by maintaining pricing while volumes declined as expected. This progress was driven by double-digit growth in Consumer Care – Crop Solutions and Personal Care in particular – while Industrial Applications sales slowed slightly. Catalysis sales rose by 18 % in local currency, mainly driven by volume growth and primarily due to growth in Petrochemicals and Syngas. Natural Resources sales increased by 16 % in local currency due to increased pricing with growth attributable to all three Business Units, especially Oil and Mining Services.

The absolute continuing operations EBITDA decreased by 24 % to CHF 154 million, and the corresponding 11.6 % margin was negatively impacted by restructuring expenses of CHF 40 million for the implementation of the new operating model. Excluding this one-time charge, the 14.7 % EBITDA margin was below the 16.3 % reported in the fourth quarter of the previous year, driven by a negative CHF 20 million EBITDA impact from project cost and higher operational cost for the sunliquid® production plant in Romania and the expected lower volumes in Care Chemicals and Additives.