Overall Statement by the Executive Board on Underlying Conditions

The coronavirus pandemic had a major impact on the global economy again in 2021. Because effective vaccines were approved and administered, it was possible to avoid lengthy lockdowns. The global economy recovered, though not as strongly as economists had expected. Growth was slowed by procurement difficulties at all steps of the supply chain, logistics bottlenecks and sharply rising prices, especially for raw materials and energy.

Amid these challenging market conditions, WACKER’s business in all divisions developed exceedingly well. The chemical business grew substantially year over year in terms of sales and also EBITDA. Strong volume growth and better prices were the primary reasons for this trend. Only WACKER POLYMERS posted EBITDA that was slightly below the prior-year level, due to steep increases in raw material prices. WACKER POLYSILICON reported particularly strong growth in both sales and EBITDA. Sales nearly doubled and EBITDA showed an even greater increase due to strong demand from the semiconductor industry and to markedly higher prices for our high-quality solar-grade silicon.

Sales grew significantly in all of WACKER’s three main regions. Growth was particularly strong in Asia, where sales grew by 56 percent to €2.64 billion. Sales in Europe increased by 23 percent and in the Americas by 8 percent.