Wacker Chemie AG, a Munich-based chemical group company, reported total sales of €525 million (~$551.30 million) for its Polysilicon division during the first quarter (Q1) 2022, a growth of 76% year-over-year compared to €298 million (~$312.92 million) in Q1 2021.
The sales were up by 12% compared to Q4 2021 with €470 million (~$493.53 million).
The company attributed the growth in sales to higher prices, particularly for solar-grade polysilicon and polysilicon for semiconductor applications.
The division reported EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of €225 million (~$236.29 million), a 341% YoY increase from €51 million (~$53.56 million) reported the previous year. However, the EBITDA decreased by 12% compared to the Q4, 2021, from €256 million (~$268.85 million).
Polysilicon prices and volumes, on balance, were somewhat higher but could not completely compensate for the decrease in EBIDTA. The quarter-over-quarter decrease was due to substantially higher prices for energy and raw materials like silicon metal compared to the previous quarter.
The division’s EBITDA margin was 42.7% for January through March 2022, after 17.1% in Q1 2021 and 54.5% in Q4 2021.
The company also attributed the Q1 performance to trailing inventory and hedging effects.
Wacker Group Earnings
The Wacker Group consists of three major divisions: Chemicals (Silicones and Polymers), Biosolutions, and Polysilicon.
The group reported total sales of €2.076 billion (~$2.182 billion) in Q1 2022, a 53% growth from €1.36 billion (~$1.43 billion) during the same period last year. The sales numbers grew 23% QoQ from €1.688 billion (~$1.774 billion) in Q4, 2021.
The EBITDA recorded for the quarter was €644 million (~$677 million), a 149.6% YoY increase from €258 million (~$271.26 million) in Q1 2021 and a 26% QoQ increase from €513 million (~$539.37 million) in Q4, 2021.
The company’s net income during the period was at €403 million (~$426.72 million), a 241.5% YoY increase from €118 million (~$124.08 million) recorded in Q1 2021, and a 48% QoQ increase from €272 million (~$286 million) recorded in the previous quarter.
Wacker group’s polysilicon division had reported sales of €1.53 billion (~$1.61 billion) for the full year 2021, a two-fold increase from the previous year’s (€792 million (~$832.97 million).
In 2021, Wacker Chemie signed a strategic five-year polysilicon supply agreement with JinkoSolar.
Satish Shetty is a Copy Editor with Mercom India. Prior to Mercom, Satish was a multimedia news producer at Reuters, where he gained experience in digital news media. Satish has his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Broadcast Journalism from Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Malaysia.
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