Arkema 1Q2021 sales up 12.7%

This year marks the start of a new era of growth for Arkema

French chemicals company Arkema reported strong earnings growth in the first quarter with sales seeing a 12.7 per cent jump to €2.23 billion versus Q1’20 at constant scope and currency. There have been significant increase in volumes (+7.7%), in the continuity of the rebound already observed in Q4’20 (+5.2%). The company reported EBITDA of €358 million, up sharply by almost 20% (€300 million in Q1’20), and EBITDA margin of 16.1%. Arkema’s adjusted net income up 59% to €159 million, representing €2.08 per share.

Commenting on the result, Thierry Le Hénaff, Chairman and CEO, said: “The pace of activity accelerated in the first quarter in the context of better economic indicators. Our growth reflects first and foremost the strength of our innovation over the past few years to position our Specialty Materials in structural growth segments, along with positive momentum in most of our end markets and our balanced geographical footprint. While remaining attentive to the evolution of the health crisis and to the volatility of the environment, in light of our very good first-quarter results and our development opportunities, the Group is strongly raising its annual targets for Specialty Materials, which represent the essential part of our scope following the divestment of PMMA.

This year marks the start of a new era of growth for Arkema, consistent with the ambitions unveiled at our April 2020 Capital Markets Day. Supported by our teams’ strong commitment to the company’s strategy, we are accelerating our innovation projects and investments in promising high growth markets driven by sustainable megatrends, such as clean mobility, lightweight materials, 3D printing and energy efficiency.”

Outlook for 2021

The positive market dynamics observed in the first quarter is continuing, supported by strong demand in the construction and DIY markets, and several industrial markets that are important for the Group.

Thanks to its innovation for sustainable development and recent industrial capacity expansions, while being attentive to the market environment, which remains volatile, Arkema considers it is very well positioned to benefit from the strongly rising demand for high-performance materials.

In this environment of robust demand, raw materials inflation should accelerate in the second quarter. The Group will continue its initiatives to increase prices to offset this impact.

In this context, and also in light of its first-quarter financial performance, the Group has raised significantly the Specialty Materials’ guidance for 2021. Excluding a systemic resumption of the health crisis, Specialty Materials’ EBITDA is now expected to grow by around 20% in 2021 compared to 2020 at constant scope and currency.

Finally, Arkema will continue to move ahead with its ambition to become a pure Specialty Materials player by 2024.