• €1,523 million sales, 0.7% up at constant exchange rate and scope of business
- Volumes 3.3% up
- -2.6% price / product mix effect mostly in fluorogases
• €213 million EBITDA, down 9% (7% up excluding fluorogases)
- EBITDA 19% up in High Performance Materials supported by volume growth
- Confirmation of good resilience of Coating Solutions in a mixed environment
- In Industrial Specialties, beginning of the year impacted by more challenging market conditions than last year in fluorogases
• 14.0% EBITDA margin
• €77 million net income Group share (Q1 2013: -€30 million)
• €1,007 million net debt stable compared to end March 2013
Quote of Thierry Le Hénaff
“The 1st quarter performance is underpinned by growth in volumes. As anticipated, performance in fluorogases was significantly down compared to the high reference point of last year. Excluding fluorogases, the Group’s EBITDA improved noticeably despite an unfavourable euro/US dollar exchange rate.
High Performance Materials achieved very good results in market conditions that had improved over last year, and benefited from the Group’s innovation drive.
The results of Industrial Specialties were affected by the specific situation in fluorogases, but showed a slight improvement overall in the other product lines.
The Coating Solutions segment has shown, quarter after quarter, its ability to adapt to mixed environments. This performance reflects the productivity efforts that have been ongoing for the past two years, as well as the relevance of the investment projects undertaken in this segment, in particular in North America.”