Issue 7, 2016 - Global Perspective

Three strategic initiatives have contributed to WACKER's continued growth

On March 17, local time, Wacker Chemie AG (Wacker) announced its 2015 financial results
at its headquarters in Munich.
Last year, WACKER generated sales of €5.
3 billion, up almost 10 percent from the previous year.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of €1.
05 billion, maintained the previous year's level, with an EBITDA margin of 20 percent.
Profit for the full year amounted to 242 million euros, an increase of 24 percent
.

Sales increased in all five segments, including silicones up 12 percent to EUR 1.
94 billion, polymers up nearly 11 percent to EUR 1.
19 billion, biotechnology up approximately 12 percent to EUR 197.
1 million, polysilicon up slightly to EUR 1.
06 billion and Siltronic Electronic Materials up 9 percent to EUR 931.
3 million
.

Dr.
Rudolf Staudig, President and CEO of Wacker Chemie, pointed out that the chemical business is important to WACKER's success, with sales more than doubling in the last 10 years alone, with an average annual growth rate of 7 percent, and this trend is likely to continue
.

In an interview with the media, Staudiger said that three strategies are key to supporting WACKER's continued growth
in a situation where global economic growth is difficult to meet expectations.
The first is operational
excellence.
WACKER's efficiency measures saved the company around €160 million in
2015.
The second is customer orientation
.
With 22 technical centers and 13 WACKER ACADEMYs worldwide, WACKER has established direct contact with more than 8,000 customers on five continents and tailors its products
to their specific needs.
The third is innovation
.
More than 10 percent of WACKER's chemical sales come from new products
that are less than five years old.

WACKER expects full-year 2016 sales to grow by a low-single-digit percentage and EBITDA to be slightly higher than the previous year after
special income.

LANXESS achieved a remarkable fiscal year 2015

LANXESS achieved remarkable
results in fiscal
2015 despite the challenging market environment 。 LANXESS EBITDA rose by 9.
5 percent to EUR 885 million in 2015, in line with previous expectations
, thanks to cost savings, stronger US dollars and higher volumes from LANXESS Greater China on March 22 at the "Dynamic Innovation and Headwinds 2015 Annual Report Conference" held in Shanghai.
Group net income also improved significantly, rising to €165 million from €47 million
in the previous year.

In 2015, LANXESS Greater China generated sales of EUR 924 million, accounting for 12 percent
of global sales.
Sales fell by 4.
2 percent
year-on-year, mainly due to lower raw material prices, particularly in the Performance Polymers segment.
LANXESS remains confident
in the Chinese market in the future.
Following the official commissioning of LANXESS EPDM rubber plant in Changzhou in 2015, LANXESS's new Ningbo inorganic pigment plant will be officially put into operation
this year.
The state-of-the-art plant with a total investment of 60 million euros will produce high-quality iron oxide pigments
in a green and safe production process.

Qian Mingcheng revealed that ARLANXEO, a joint venture between LANXESS and Saudi Aramco in the field of synthetic rubber, will be officially launched
on April 1, 2016.
ARLANXEO (which includes Tire & Specialty Rubbers, Performance Elastomers) and High Performance Materials will replace the Performance Polymers segment, while the High Quality Intermediates and Performance Chemicals segments will remain unchanged
.
The "new" LANXESS will focus on the mid-market as well as growth regions
such as North America, China and Southeast Asia.

LANXESS expects EBITDA of 880 million ~ EUR 930 million
in fiscal year 2016.