Wacker sees sales and earnings decline significantly in Q3 2023 due to persistently difficult mar-ket environment

Wacker Chemie AG saw its sales and earnings decline significantly in the third quarter of 2023 due to the persistently difficult market environment. The chemical company generated sales of €1.52 billion in the reporting quarter (Q3 2022: €2.13 billion), down 29%. This decrease was chiefly due to lower selling prices. Volume and exchange-rate effects further reduced sales slightly. Compared with Q2 2023 (€1.75 billion), sales decreased 13%. 

In Q3 2023, Wacker posted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of €152 million (Q3 2022: €457 million), down 67% year over year. The decline was due to lower prices and volumes as well as partly lower plant utilisation rates.

“The economic climate remained challenging for Wacker in the third quarter – as it did for the entire chemical industry,” said Group CEO Christian Hartel on Thursday in Munich. According to Hartel, the ex-pected recovery in demand in the second half of 2023, which many market experts had forecasted at the beginning of the year, has yet to materialize. “That is why sales and earnings are far below our strong prior-year figures after the first nine months of the year,” explained the CEO (pictured).

The full report can be found here.