Fy19f: further growth of sales volume and low sales price; kostron achieves its goal in the still severe market environment

Core business sales increased by 2.0% The group's total sales reached about 12.4 billion euros (- 15.1%) and EBITDA was in line with expectations, reaching about 1.6 billion euros (- 49.9%) to launch strategic projects and promote the development of circular economy It is planned to pay a dividend of 2.40 euros per share in 2020 Outlook: the situation is still severe throughout the year, despite the severe market challenges, keschuang still achieved the target of fy2019 Core business sales increased by 2.0% year on year The group's sales fell 15.1% to around EUR 12.4 billion due to increased competitive pressures in various sectors and still low sales prices As a result, EBITDA fell 49.9% year-on-year to about EUR 1.6 billion, in line with expectations Net profit decreased by 69.7% to EUR 552 million, and free operating cash flow decreased by 71.7% to EUR 473 million On this basis, keschuang plans to pay a dividend of 2.40 euros per share, the same as the previous year "There are many geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties in 2019, although the market demand for our materials has not changed This confirms our view that plastics will be more valuable in the future than ever before " "2020 will remain a challenging year for us," said Dr Markus steilemann, chief executive However, we also see the long-term market demand for high-tech plastics, which can help different key technology areas to further achieve sustainable development As a result, our business is also constantly moving towards a circular economy " Kostron launched a global strategic project in fy2019 to implement circular economy development in all sectors For example, the company is actively promoting the use of alternative raw materials, developing various innovative recycling technologies, and establishing a wide range of cooperation and new business models The efficiency of performance of each business unit of Cisco in fy19f ensures the adaptability "Although the operating performance in fy19f is lower than the record level in previous years as expected due to the continuous pressure of price, the financial foundation of Cisco is still solid, and we still achieve the goal in this environment." Dr Thomas Toepfer, chief financial officer, said, "in the current market environment, we can only maintain the required financial flexibility and achieve success through more efficient operation, prioritization of projects and continuous investment review." Given that the outlook for 2020 remains challenging, Cisco is accelerating a long-term project aimed at improving efficiency and efficiency The project, launched in October 2018, has helped the company cut costs by about 150 million euros in the previous fiscal year In 2020, the company aims to save 250 million euros through the project, and by the end of 2021, it is expected to achieve the annual cumulative savings of about 350 million euros In addition, the company has taken a variety of short-term measures, such as more efficient cost management and a re examination of all existing and planned investments Therefore, in addition to constantly improving the company's business influence, the focus in 2020 will still be on efficiency improvement Fully tap the potential of product innovation commercialization At the K 2019 International Plastics Exhibition held in Dusseldorf, Germany last autumn, kostrong demonstrated many product innovations aimed at global challenges such as urbanization, future travel and climate change As an innovation leader, kostrong and its materials keep pace with the times Over the next few years, the company will focus on maximizing the business potential of these innovations In the summer of 2019, sucheta govil, who serves as a member of the board of directors and chief business officer, will focus on improving the sales strength of kostron Her goal is to continue to strengthen the customer-centric concept, optimize and promote the digitalization of marketing strategy, and explore attractive market opportunities more efficiently Continuous review of investment projects: focus on long-term success in 2019, with a total investment of 910 million euros (2007 million euros in 2018), the highest in the company's history In terms of investment project management, the company always pays attention to efficiency and optimal use of capital In view of the still grim market environment, Cisco announced in January 2020 that it would suspend its MDI investment project in bedon for 18 to 24 months Nevertheless, kostron believes that the long-term growth prospects of MDI are bright Kostron's new MDI production facility in blombert, Germany, has been put into operation as scheduled in the first quarter of 2020, doubling the production capacity of the base to 400000 tons / year Blombert will also be one of the three largest MDI production bases in Europe, consolidating the leading position of kostron in this market 2020 financial guidance: the market environment is still grim, and kostron expects to achieve a low single digit percentage growth in core business sales in fy2020 At the same time, the Group expects that the free operating cash flow will remain between 0-400 million euros, and the return on capital occupied will be between 2% - 7% The company expects the annual EBITDA to be between 1-1.5 billion euros and the first quarter EBITDA to be between 200-280 million euros Novel coronavirus is not yet fully anticipated to make financial impact on fiscal year 2020 The sales growth of polyurethane and polycarbonate segment benefited from the demand growth of furniture, construction, electronic, electrical and home appliance industries, and the sales of core businesses in polyurethane business segment increased by 2.3% year-on-year Growth from these sectors is enough to offset weak demand in other sectors, such as automobiles Sales fell 21.5% to 5.779 billion euros due to increased market competition and lower average selling prices Although the price of raw materials has declined, the decrease of sales price still seriously affects the profit margin As a result, the sector's EBITDA fell 63.2% to 648 million euros In fy2019, the core business volume of polycarbonate business increased by 2.7% year-on-year, mainly due to the strong demand of electronics, electrical appliances and construction industry The sales price level of the sector also declined year on year due to the intensified market competition, resulting in a decrease of 14.3% in sales to 3.473 billion euros and a decrease of 48.3% in EBITDA to 536 million euros In addition, the sale of the U.S sheet business in the third quarter of 2018 also had a negative impact of 2.2% on fy19f sales In fy2019, the core business sales of coatings, adhesives and special chemicals decreased by 1.0% year-on-year, mainly due to the weak demand for coating front-end raw materials in the automobile industry Sales in the sector reached EUR 2.369 billion, basically the same as in 2018 (EUR 2.361 billion) EBITDA increased 1.1% to 469 million euros The decrease of profit margin due to the decrease of sales price and the decrease of sales volume have a negative impact on the profits of the sector However, the change of exchange rate and the increase of shares of DIC covestro polymer Ltd in Japan have a positive impact on its profits In the fourth quarter of 2019, the market competition was fierce In the fourth quarter of 2019, the sales volume of the group's core business increased by 3.8% The group's sales decreased by 12.5% year on year, mainly due to the increased competitive pressure of various business sectors, resulting in the decrease of sales price In the fourth quarter, the group's EBITDA fell 5.1% to 278 million euros, while its net profit decreased 53.2% to 37 million euros Free operating cash flow fell 9.1% year-on-year to EUR 330 million About covestro: covestro is one of the largest polymer producers in the world, with sales of 12.4 billion euros in 2019 Its business scope mainly focuses on the production and manufacturing of high-tech polymer materials, as well as the research and development of innovative solutions for many fields of daily life The main service areas include automobile, construction, wood processing and furniture, electrical and electronic industries, and other fields include sports and leisure, cosmetics, medical and chemical industries themselves As of the end of 2019, keschuang has 30 production bases and about 17200 employees (calculated by full-time employees) in the world You can visit www.covestro.cn to download this press release and related pictures from the news server of covestro Please indicate the source when using the picture For more information, please visit www.covestro.cn Kos official WeChat official account: cossson's forward-looking statement in China, which may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and projections All kinds of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause substantial differences between the actual operating results, financial conditions, development or performance of the company in the future and the estimates made in this paper These factors are included in the official report of covestro, which can be viewed at www.covestro.com Kostron shall not be responsible for updating these forward-looking statements or making them consistent with future events or developments.