29 Aug 2013
SGL management Board introduces comprehensive cost savings program in response to the weak business development in the first half year 2013
Half-year report 2013
• Sales increased by 2% to €828 million
• EBITDA before extraordinary effects down 38% to €67 million
• 2013 guidance modified (published on June 27, 2013): EBITDA 50- 60% below comparable previous-year figure of €240 million due to increased competitive pressures from Asia and lack of business recovery in second half year
• Management Board introduces a comprehensive cost savings program
Wiesbaden, August 29, 2013. The SGL Group – The Carbon Company – announced that the overall business development in the first half 2013 was weaker than anticipated. Group sales increased slightly by 2% to €828.2 million (H1/2012: €809.8 million). Due to the weak development in all three Business Areas, Group EBITDA decreased by 38% to €67.3 million (H1/2012: €108.2 million). This corresponds to an EBITDA margin of 8.1%.
Robert Koehler, CEO of SGL Group: “The combination of a cyclical downturn in many of our customer industries, temporary overcapacities especially in our graphite electrodes and specialties businesses as well as project delays in development and start-up phases within the Business Area Carbon Fibers & Composites required a quick response to the changed market and competitive environment. Therefore, as already indicated, we have introduced a comprehensive Group-wide cost savings program SGL2015 to take resolute action.”
Reader enquiries
SGLNotes for editors
About SGL Group – The Carbon Company
SGL Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of carbon-based products and materials. It has a comprehensive portfolio ranging from carbon and graphite products to carbon fibers and composites. SGL Group’s core competencies are its expertise in high-temperature technology as well as its applications and engineering know-how gained over many years. These competencies enable the Company to make full use of its broad material base. SGL Group’s carbon-based materials combine several unique properties such as very good electrical and thermal conductivity, heat and corrosion resistance as well as high mechanical strength combined with low weight. Due to industrialization in the growth regions of Asia and Latin America and increased substitution of traditional with innovative materials, there is a growing demand for SGL Group’s high-performance materials and products. Products from SGL Group are used predominantly in the steel, aluminum, automotive and chemical industries as well as in the semiconductor, solar and LED sectors and in lithium-ion batteries. Carbon-based materials and products are also being used increasingly in the wind power, aerospace and defense industries.
With 45 production sites in Europe, North America and Asia as well as a service network covering more than 100 countries, SGL Group is a company with a global presence. In 2012, the Company’s workforce of around 6,700 employees generated sales of €1,709 million. The Company’s head office is located in Wiesbaden.
Further information on the SGL Group can be found online at: www.sglgroup.com
Important note:
This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on the information currently available to us and on our current projections and assumptions. By nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, as a consequence of which actual developments and results can deviate significantly from these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not to be understood as guarantees. Rather, future developments and results depend on a number of factors; they entail various risks and unanticipated circumstances and are based on assumptions which may prove to be inaccurate. These risks and uncertainties include, for example, unforeseeable changes in political, economic, legal, and business conditions, particularly relating to our main customer industries, such as electric steel production, to the competitive environment, to interest rate and exchange rate fluctuations, to
technological developments, and to other risks and unanticipated circumstances. Other risks that in our opinion may arise include price developments, unexpected developments connected with acquisitions and subsidiaries, and unforeseen risks associated with ongoing cost savings programs. SGL Group does not intend or assume any responsibility to revise or otherwise update these forward-looking statements.