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Excellent quarterly results, confirming the soundness of our strategy toward Specialty Materials, and achieved in a very inflationary context.
Annual guidance raised despite a more uncertain macroeconomic environment.

  • Sales of €3.2 billion, up by 32.9% compared with Q2’21:
    • Benefits of new business developments in high value-added sustainable solutions (batteries, sports, electronics, healthcare, etc.)
    • Selling price adjustments in the face of very significant raw materials, energy and transportation cost inflation
    • Slight decline in volumes relative to last year’s high comparison base. Contrasting regional dynamics, robust in North America, down in Europe, and slightly positive in Asia despite the context of lockdowns in China
  • EBITDA up by a strong 47.5% compared with Q2’21 to €705 million, and a record EBITDA margin of 22.1%:
    • Very significant 41.8% growth in Specialty Materials’ EBITDA to €600 million (€423 million in Q2’21), supported by each of the three segments, Adhesive Solutions, Advanced Materials and Coating Solutions
    • Intermediates’ EBITDA at €129 million (€81 million in Q2’21), benefiting notably from more favorable market conditions overall and from initiatives taken by the Group
  • Adjusted net income up very strongly by 65.9% to €443 million, representing €5.99 per share (€3.50 in Q2’21)
  • Recurring cash flow of €235 million, reflecting the quality of the Group’s financial performance and including an increase in working capital linked to higher prices and traditional seasonality
  • Net debt tightly controlled at €2,789 million, including €700 million in hybrid bonds, representing 1.3x last-twelve-months EBITDA
  • New, more ambitious climate plan announced on 7 July, with an increased level of commitment, aligned with a 1.5°C trajectory and now including scope 3 emissions
  • Strengthening of the Coating Solutions segment’s downstream with the acquisition of Polimeros Especiales, one of the leaders in solvent-free acrylic resins in Mexico, which will complement the Group’s offering of more environmentally friendly solutions
  • Annual guidance raised significantly despite a more uncertain macroeconomic environment and weaker demand in Europe: Arkema now aims to achieve in 2022, excluding further significant disruption of the global context, annual EBITDA growth of 17% to 22% at constant scope compared with 2021 (vs. “slight growth” previously), representing an EBITDA of around €2,100 million.

Following Arkema’s Board of Directors’ meeting held on 28 July 2022 to approve the Group’s consolidated financial statements for the first half of 2022, Chairman and CEO Thierry Le Hénaff said:

“The excellent second-quarter performance was achieved in a demanding operating environment, marked by high raw materials inflation, the particular energy context in Europe and disruptions to logistics flows between regions. I would like to thank all of our teams, who contributed to this outstanding financial performance through their commitment and responsiveness, as well as our customers, for engaging in high quality dialogue that enabled us to support them in this complex environment. The Group also continued to benefit from the superior quality of its portfolio of technologies in high performance materials, the opportunities created by the strength of its innovation for sustainable development, and its balanced geographic presence between the three key regions.

Moreover, Arkema is continuing to implement its strategy focused on sustainable growth, with the successful integration of Ashland’s adhesives, the announcement of a high-quality bolt-on acquisition in the Coating Solutions segment’s downstream, the upcoming start-ups of our major investments in Aurora, North Carolina, and Singapore, and our new climate plan announced in early July, which is aligned with the Paris Agreement and a 1.5°C SBT trajectory.

In a global environment that many observers and experts are qualifying as difficult for the coming months and which incites us to be attentive, the new EBITDA guidance for 2022, which has been significantly raised, is a sign of confidence in the Group’s ability to meet the challenges that could arise in the second half of the year.”

Outlook for 2022

The second half is marked by a context of risks of lockdowns in China, geopolitical tensions linked to the war in Ukraine, concerns regarding the availability and price of natural gas and electricity in Europe, as well as the significant increase in the level of inflation, which are all factors that could weigh on demand going forward.

In this context, the Group will benefit from its balanced geographic presence and will remain attentive to the evolution of market conditions. Moreover, it will ensure to take inflation into account in its selling prices, strictly manage its fixed costs and inventories, and pursue its innovation in high performance materials.

Despite the uncertain macroeconomic environment and the decline in volumes observed in Europe, Arkema is raising its annual targets and now aims to achieve in 2022, excluding further significant disruption of the global context, annual EBITDA growth at constant scope of 17% to 22% compared with 2021 (vs. “slight growth” previously), representing an EBITDA of around €2,100 million.

The Group is also reaffirming its confidence in its ability to achieve the ambitious targets it has set for 2024 and will continue to implement its strategic roadmap for sustainable development. Arkema will thus leverage its bolt-on acquisition policy, its industrial capacity expansions to support its customers’ growth in high-potential markets, its numerous initiatives in CSR, and lastly the strength of its innovation which should enable the company to generate €1.5 billion of new revenues from 2019 to 2030 around its five large R&D platforms.

Further details concerning the Group’s second-quarter 2022 results are provided in the “Second-quarter 2022 results and outlook” presentation and the “Factsheet” document, both available on Arkema’s website at: www.arkema.com/global/en/investor-relations/

Financial calendar

10 November 2022: Publication of third-quarter 2022 results

23 February 2023: Publication of full-year 2022 results

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