In This Article:
-
EBITDA: Up 20% for the full year 2024.
-
Free Cash Flow: Solid performance despite modest profitability, with a focus on debt reduction.
-
Net Financial Debt: Decreased by approximately EUR 100 million, a reduction of 5 percentage points.
-
Safety Performance: Achieved a top ranking in the European industry with an MAQ of 0.6.
-
Consumer Protection Segment: Weakness due to severe destocking in agro chemicals, particularly affecting Saltigo.
-
Additives Segment: Improvement over 2023, though still impacted by the construction industry.
-
Advanced Intermediates Segment: Recovered from 2023 but not yet at normal profitability levels.
-
Guidance for 2025: Expected EBITDA of EUR 600 million to EUR 650 million, with a 25% to 35% improvement in Q1 compared to the previous year.
Release Date: March 20, 2025
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Positive Points
-
Lanxess AG (LNXSF) reported a 20% increase in EBITDA for 2024, exceeding initial guidance.
-
The company successfully implemented its cost savings program, FORWARD!, which contributed to increased profitability.
-
Lanxess AG (LNXSF) secured long-term financing with a new sustainability-linked revolving credit facility.
-
The company achieved a top safety performance ranking in the European industry for the third consecutive year.
-
Lanxess AG (LNXSF) is on track with its portfolio transformation, focusing on chemicals and divesting from polymers, with expected cash proceeds to aid in debt reduction.
Negative Points
-
2024 was a challenging year with weak macroeconomic demand and significant destocking in the agro industry.
-
The Consumer Protection segment faced a downturn due to destocking in the agrochemical sector, particularly impacting Saltigo.
-
The construction industry remained a drag on the Additives segment, affecting profitability.
-
Advanced Intermediates have not returned to normal profitability levels, despite some recovery from 2023.
-
The company anticipates only modest macroeconomic improvements in 2025, with ongoing political and economic uncertainties.
Q & A Highlights
Q: Can we expect faster growth in Consumer Protection compared to other divisions, and what are the drivers? Also, can we assume the free cash flow conversion from EBITDA in 2024 is the base case for 2025? A: Consumer Protection is expected to grow faster due to improvements in Saltigo, which faced destocking in 2024. The assumption is that destocking is over, leading to better performance in 2025. Regarding free cash flow, the focus remains on generating cash, and the conversion seen in 2024 is expected to continue into 2025, despite seasonal volatilities. (Matthias Zachert, CEO; Oliver Stratmann, CFO)