German polysilicon maker WACKER Chemical reported strong sales in the third quarter, with sales of € 1.35 billion ($ 1.47 billion).
Although the sales figures for the third quarter decreased by 1% year-on-year and 3% month-on-year, the contraction in sales performance was largely attributable to the decline in global prices of solar silicon, semiconductor wafers and other chemical products.
Overall, the company was profitable in the third quarter, with EBITDA of 304 million euros ($ 331 million), an average annual growth of 14%, which is comparable to Q2 performance. EBITDA margin was 22.4%, compared with 19.5% in the third quarter of 2015 and 21.6% in the second quarter of 2016, a slight increase.
WACKER attributed the significant increase in EBITD A to the good 2016 cost price situation.
Net income for the third quarter was EUR 67.5 million (US $ 73.6 million), up from EUR 58.2 million in the third quarter of last year.
As WACKER's financial performance has maintained steady growth, its full-year 2016 financial forecast remains unchanged, and sales this year will still achieve single-digit growth, and its EBITDA is expected to increase by 5-10% over last year. The company confirmed that by the end of the third quarter, cash flow reached 229 million, confirming the trend of profit growth.
Rudolf Staudigl, CEO of WACKER Chemical, said: "While things are not always easy at the moment, WACKER performed well from July to September. The polysilicon division is more difficult than the chemical and Siltronic divisions, with solar customers placing orders in September. A significant reduction from previous months. However, there are growing signs that demand for solar silicon will pick up again. "