The sales trend was positive at WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS, too. Sales rose by 4.7 percent in 2016 to €206.4 million (2015: €197.1 million). Higher volumes essentially prompted the increase, while lower prices had the opposite effect. Pharmaceutical proteins and nutrition products performed especially well, recording double-digit growth. From a regional perspective, sales growth was strongest in Europe and Asia.

EBITDA increased by 14.9 percent to €37.0 million (2015: €32.2 million), mainly due to volume growth and high production capacity utilization. The EBITDA margin improved to 17.9 percent (2015: 16.3 percent).

Investments increased year over year to €9.1 million (2015: €6.2 million). The funds were used to expand existing production facilities. In particular, capital spending focused on expanding the cyclodextrin plant in the United States. In addition, WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS acquired a large-scale fermentation plant in Spain. The aim is to meet rising customer demand for cysteine in the long term and to manufacture other biosynthetic products. As of December 31, 2016, the number of employees reached 510 (Dec. 31, 2015: 491).

Key Data: WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS