Wacker Chemie AG nearly doubled its earnings in the third quarter of 2026, as aggressive cost-cutting measures, improved selling prices and stronger performance across its business divisions helped offset rising raw-material and energy costs.
The German chemicals major reported third-quarter sales of €1.47 billion, up 9.4% from €1.34 billion a year earlier. EBITDA surged 94.4% to €217.2 million from €111.7 million, lifting the EBITDA margin to 14.8% from 8.3% in the corresponding quarter last year.
Net income swung sharply into positive territory at €87.3 million, compared with a loss of €82.1 million in Q3 2025. Earnings per share stood at €1.68, against a loss of €1.73 a year earlier.
The sharp improvement came despite higher raw-material and energy costs, with the company crediting savings from its PACE cost-savings and efficiency programme, alongside favourable currency movements, a stronger product mix and a one-off gain linked to the termination of a contract in its Polysilicon division.
WACKER CEO Christian Hartel said the company's restructuring and efficiency drive was beginning to deliver results.
"Our quarterly results show that the cost-savings and efficiency measures we introduced a year ago are having an impact. The economic environment remains challenging. In light of this, WACKER has performed well."
Launched in October 2025, the PACE programme is central to WACKER's efforts to restore profitability and strengthen competitiveness. The company aims to generate annual savings of more than €300 million from 2028.
The programme helped drive lower operating costs across several divisions, contributing significantly to the improvement in third-quarter earnings.
"We closed out the third quarter with significantly higher figures than in the same period last year. This shows once again that the cost-savings and efficiency measures we introduced a year ago as part of PACE are having an impact. We are right on track here and will achieve the targets we have set for 2026," says Christian Hartel, CEO of Wacker Chemie AG.
Beyond cost reductions, WACKER is looking to reignite growth through its REFOCUS strategy, which prioritises expansion in selected high-potential markets and a more disciplined business portfolio.
At its Capital Markets Day in September, the company outlined its longer-term financial ambitions, including growth above the pace of the global economy, an EBITDA margin of 15%, plus or minus two percentage points, and a sustained return on capital employed (ROCE) above 10%.
"With REFOCUS, we are focusing on selective growth in attractive markets and rigorously steering our business portfolio. This is how we intend to fully realize WACKER’s potential and increase our profitability. Our approach is based on the structural and efficiency measures already being implemented to strengthen our competitiveness,” Hartel continues.
Despite the strong year-on-year earnings improvement, WACKER cautioned that the broader industrial environment remains difficult.
Demand from key customer industries, particularly automotive and construction, continues to be subdued, while geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are adding to market uncertainty.
"The economic environment remains challenging for the entire industry. In light of this, WACKER has performed well," states Hartel, referring to the company's performance in the third quarter.
Sales and EBITDA also moderated sequentially. Revenue declined 3% from €1.52 billion in Q2 2026, while EBITDA edged up 3% from €211 million.
The company said there were still no clear signs of a sustained economic recovery.
All four WACKER business divisions recorded year-on-year sales growth in the third quarter, with three reporting higher EBITDA.
The Silicones division remained the largest contributor, generating sales of €729 million, up 8% from €673 million a year earlier. EBITDA climbed 35% to €116 million from €86 million, supported by higher selling prices, an improved product mix, currency benefits and PACE-related cost savings.
The Polymers division delivered an even stronger earnings improvement. Sales increased 11% to €381 million from €344 million, while EBITDA rose 58% to €75 million from €47 million. Higher selling prices and lower operating costs supported the performance.
Biosolutions recorded an 8% increase in sales to €100 million from €93 million, driven particularly by positive developments in its biopharmaceutical and life-science chemicals businesses. EBITDA remained unchanged at €8 million.
The Polysilicon division reported sales growth of 14% to €225 million from €197 million. EBITDA jumped to €44 million from €18 million, reflecting stronger operating performance, higher volumes and an approximately €35 million one-off benefit from the termination of a contract in the solar-grade polysilicon segment.
While solar-grade polysilicon markets remained challenging, demand and business conditions in semiconductor-grade polysilicon continued to be favourable.
WACKER's cash generation strengthened sharply during the quarter, with net cash flow reaching €476.4 million against just €18.5 million in Q3 2025.
The improvement reflected stronger operating performance and proceeds of approximately €170 million from the further sale of shares in Siltronic AG.
A change in the funding arrangement for phased-retirement obligations also provided a one-off liquidity boost of around €120 million. Securities previously held to fund these obligations were sold and replaced with a bank guarantee arrangement.
Capital expenditure fell 35.7% year on year to €71.3 million from €110.9 million, as investments were directed primarily towards optimising and maintaining existing facilities.
