Oxea reports 25% earnings increase compared to previous quarter

16-05-2012: Oxea announced a significant earnings increase for the first quarter of 2012 compared to the fourth quarter of 2011. Net sales of €372 million were up by 13% and Adjusted EBITDA amounted to €45million reflecting an increase of 25% from the fourth quarter of 2011.

After a challenging fourth quarter of 2011 which was affected by the softening of the world economy and destocking activities along the value chain in the entire industry, Oxea was able to significantly increase revenues and EBITDA during the first quarter of 2012. This positive trend was recognized across the entire product portfolio. Despite the difficult macroeconomic environment still affected by the financial turbulence stemming from the European debt crisis, Oxea’s Adjusted EBITDA of €45 million clearly outperformed the expectations for the first quarter of 2012.

Compared to the very strong first quarter of 2011 revenues stayed broadly flat but margins could not reach the previous level such that gross profit was € 47 million after  € 68 million in the first quarter of 2011. The first quarter of 2011 was positively affected by high export margins and one-off gains from steep raw material price increases over the average cost value carried in inventories. Oxea generated strong cash flows mainly due to a significant improvement of Trade Working Capital. Cash provided by operating activities was €42 million compared to € 20 million in the corresponding period of the prior year. The strong cash generation further improved Oxea’s financial profile and further reduced net debt to 1.8x Adjusted EBITDA.