Wacker Chemie AG Conference Call FY 2013 March 18 th, 2014 Dr Staudigl, CEO Dr Rauhut, CFO Hoffmann, CFA, IR Page 1 of 7.
Hoffmann: Welcome to the Full Year 2013 conference call on Wacker Chemie AG. My name is Joerg Hoffmann, Head of Investor Relations. As usual, we have Dr. Rudolf Staudigl, our CEO and Dr. Joachim Rauhut, our CFO with us on the call today. Please note that during this call we may make statements which contain predictions, estimates or other information which are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and certain assumptions and are therefore subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Some of these risks and uncertainties are beyond WACKER s control and could cause the actual results to differ materially from results, performances or achievements that may be expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. WACKER may not update those risk factors or the forward-looking statements made during this call, nor does it assume any obligation to do so. We published today our annual report, a presentation to accompany this call, a press release on our numbers, and an excel-file detailing our data. In addition we published a press release today concerning polysilicon imports into China. A written version of today s prepared speeches will be posted on our website about half an hour after this call. You will find all of this on our website www.wacker.com under the caption Investor Relations. Dr Staudigl: Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to our full year 2013 conference call. At about 4.5 billion Euros, group sales in 2013 were 3 per cent below prior year. EBITDA declined about 15 per cent to 679 million Euros. Our strong chemicals businesses could not quite compensate the significant price declines in polysilicon and semi wafers. Overall 2013 was a difficult year, with a slow start but a strong finish. We increased our polysilicon shipments by 29 per cent to 49,000 tons. This is the highest amount ever shipped by us. We lowered costs in Siltronic significantly through continuous cost reduction programs, Page 2 of 7.
resulting in an improving performance despite falling prices and exchange rate based competition. Our Chemicals businesses provided stable support with growing shipments and improving profitability. Across all our segments, we initiated cost reductions and actually exceeded our targets by harvesting 225 million Euros including the effects of volume growth. Net cash flow improved to 110 million Euros and net financial debt came in significantly better than our 2013 targets. We have achieved this financial performance through lower capex in 2013 and firm working capital management. We have reduced our 2013 capex by 54 per cent to 504 million Euros. POLYSILICON benefits from accelerated growth in solar installations. Our shipments and bookings into Q1 are strong, with price improvements. After installations of 38 gigawatts last year, we predict an increase of installation to 43 to 52 Gigawatts in 2014. At mid-point, this represents a 25 per cent increase and there are some signs that hint to even higher installation numbers. Clean air issues and energy programs in China and Japan, a fast developing market for installations in the U.S and growing competitiveness of solar contribute to this expected increase. We expect high utilizations in our polysilicon plants as a result. Our POLYSILICON project in Tennessee is progressing as planned. We have announced this morning that we have found an amicable solution with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce on the trade dispute regarding our polysilicon imports into China. We have agreed to a minimum import price, based on a market price mechanism. As a result, we are able to continue to supply polysilicon to our Chinese customers without import duties. Overall, this is a very positive result, as it supports the Chinese solar industry s needs for high quality polysilicon in their quest for lower costs per watt from high output modules. The agreement shows in our view how dialogue in a cooperative spirit can overcome conflicting views on trade issues. A contract restructuring in POLYSILICON with a major customer benefits our Q1 with about 115 million Euros of retained prepayments and damages. We continue to supply this customer, however with less volume and at market prices. Page 3 of 7.
Siltronic continues its strategic transformation as presented in our Capital Markets Day last year. Acquiring the majority of the joint venture with Samsung allows us to consolidate the Singapore operations. In addition, the joint operation of our 300 mm plants should yield synergies from shared cost reduction programs, an exchange of best practices and optimized production allocation. With this move and the site closures of the last years, Siltronic is moving to a stronger global production footprint. After a difficult year in 2013, we are looking positively into 2014. Demand for polysilicon should continue to grow and prices are set to rise. European markets are recovering for the Chemical business. Unfortunately, the Euro is strengthening. We expect some energy cost increases here in Germany as well. However, these effects are more than compensated by our efforts to lower costs. This year we expect another three-digit million amount of cost savings. In summary, we expect sales to grow, EBITDA up by at least 10 per cent and net result to rise. All in all: Last year we have improved our market share in POLYSILICON, and in SILICONES. We have optimized the strategic set up of Siltronic through the takeover of the Singapore JV. Our market leadership in POLYMERS is unmatched and the future potential of BIOSOLUTIONS has been supported by the acquisition of our new production plant in Halle. All of this gives us the confidence to be optimistic about our future. Joachim will give you now more detail. Dr Rauhut Since you already saw our preliminaries in early February, let us not dwell too much on the past, but look forward. I will provide guidance for Page 4 of 7.
our segments on Q1 and full year and fill you in on some detail for the past Q4 where necessary. As Rudy said, we expect to increase our EBITDA for 2014 by at least 10 per cent. Strong volumes in all segments and firm pricing in some of them support this. This guidance is based on segment forecasts, which I will explain now. Our Q4 results included two special effects. One was in SILICONES, where the reversal of a loss provision established in 2010 for our Chinese Siloxane JV supported earnings with 14 million Euros. After a strong fourth quarter, we see increasing volumes but lower prices for standard products. Our efforts to convert more of our precursor siloxane into higher value added products continue with some success in personal care, medical devices and electronics, mostly in Asia. With overall stable raw material costs, we expect a SILICONES EBITDA slightly below prior year, but better than 2013 excluding the Q4 special effect. Sales in POLYMERS suffered in 2013 from a reversal of some styrene butadiene substitution mainly in paper and carpet as prices for butadiene fell in early 2013. For 2014, we expect the substitution process into VAE dispersions to regain traction, especially in the carpet industry. In dispersible powders, our focus is on transforming a larger share of unmodified dry mortar market into polymer-modified dry mortars. With sales growth mainly from China, India and the Americas, we expect a slight increase in full year EBITDA for 2014. BIOSOLUTIONS just completed the acquisition of SCIL Proteins, giving us access to GMP qualified large-scale fermenters. The acquisition complements our full service offer for the microbial manufacturing of biologics and gives us sufficient capacity to serve customers not only during clinical testing, but also for market supply. Overall, we expect good growth in sales at stable EBITDA for 2014. Please note that in 2013 the Chemicals business had some positive effects from temporary salary adjustments of 15 million euros, which will not be repeated in 2014. In POLYSILICON, we see volume and sales growth in 2014. As Rudy already said, we see solar installations between 43 and 52 Gigawatts in Page 5 of 7.
2014 globally. Pricing for solar products is trending over 2013 averages. We continue to focus on achieving another substantial cost reduction for polysilicon without compromising quality. With already high utilization rates and moderate price increases, EBITDA should improve over last year, showing a clean performance similar to our fourth quarter 2013. Demand in the first weeks of the year was high, so that we reduced inventories further. With strong demand for our product, we have now reached inventory levels close to what we consider a minimum for running the business. As Rudy already said, we will report about 115 million Euros of retained prepayments and damages from a major contract adjustment in Q1. In 2013, we had 78 million Euro special effects of this kind, whereby 8 million were booked in Q4. We expect to start to ramp the Tennessee facility in the second half of 2015 and will have the full capacity available for sale in 2016. As the technology continues to improve, we expect an increase in overall plant capacity and efficiency from process improvements. Siltronic Q4 included a special depreciation for disused assets of 31 million Euros, decreasing the EBIT. For 2014, we expect to consolidate the Singapore activities in 300 mm per the beginning of this fiscal year. Full year 2014 reported sales should benefit by 100 million Euros from this. Reported EBITDA will also increase. Given the massive price declines compared to the previous year, full-consolidated profit at Siltronic will lag last year s figure of 110 million Euros significantly. However, the fully consolidated 2014 result will also be significantly higher than the reported 2013 result under at-equity accounting at 27 million Euros. Overall, we expect stable shipments for 200 mm and see growth potential for 300 mm. Now, let us look at guidance for the Group. We expect Group sales to increase by a mid-single-digit percentage year over year. The stronger Euro has a dampening effect on sales. Following strong shipments and our cost reduction efforts, we expect EBITDA for the full year 2014 to increase by at least 10 per cent. This is certainly a cautious guidance and we hope to improve on this during the year. Combined with a still high tax rate of over 50 per cent this should lead to a better net income. Page 6 of 7.
In the first quarter, sales and EBITDA should be clearly above 1.1 billion Euros and 250 million Euros, respectively. For the full year, we see depreciation at 600 million Euros in 2014, with capex below that number at 550 million Euros. About half of this is for the Tennessee plant. Net financial debt should increase by 300 to 400 million Euros, following the consolidation of the Singapore JV and the continuing supply of polysilicon quantities for which we have received prepayments. Overall, net cash flow will be neutral on the full year, as we do not expect further substantial working capital effects. For WACKER 2014 is still a year of transformation. While we are finishing our last capital-intensive expansion projects, we are not yet reaping the full rewards. Given the foundation we laid, that should change over the coming years. To get there, we continue working on cost roadmaps. For 2014, we target three-digit million Euros in cost savings, supported by volume growth. In summary, we have navigated a tough 2013. This year, however, should show an improved performance towards our long-term targets. Page 7 of 7.
Wacker Chemie AG Conference Call FY 2013 March 18 th, 2014 Dr Staudigl, CEO Dr Rauhut, CFO Hoffmann, CFA, IR Page 1 of 7.
Hoffmann: Welcome to the Full Year 2013 conference call on Wacker Chemie AG. My name is Joerg Hoffmann, Head of Investor Relations. As usual, we have Dr. Rudolf Staudigl, our CEO and Dr. Joachim Rauhut, our CFO with us on the call today. Please note that during this call we may make statements which contain predictions, estimates or other information which are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and certain assumptions and are therefore subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Some of these risks and uncertainties are beyond WACKER s control and could cause the actual results to differ materially from results, performances or achievements that may be expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. WACKER may not update those risk factors or the forward-looking statements made during this call, nor does it assume any obligation to do so. We published today our annual report, a presentation to accompany this call, a press release on our numbers, and an excel-file detailing our data. In addition we published a press release today concerning polysilicon imports into China. A written version of today s prepared speeches will be posted on our website about half an hour after this call. You will find all of this on our website www.wacker.com under the caption Investor Relations. Dr Staudigl: Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to our full year 2013 conference call. At about 4.5 billion Euros, group sales in 2013 were 3 per cent below prior year. EBITDA declined about 15 per cent to 679 million Euros. Our strong chemicals businesses could not quite compensate the significant price declines in polysilicon and semi wafers. Overall 2013 was a difficult year, with a slow start but a strong finish. We increased our polysilicon shipments by 29 per cent to 49,000 tons. This is the highest amount ever shipped by us. We lowered costs in Siltronic significantly through continuous cost reduction programs, Page 2 of 7.
resulting in an improving performance despite falling prices and exchange rate based competition. Our Chemicals businesses provided stable support with growing shipments and improving profitability. Across all our segments, we initiated cost reductions and actually exceeded our targets by harvesting 225 million Euros including the effects of volume growth. Net cash flow improved to 110 million Euros and net financial debt came in significantly better than our 2013 targets. We have achieved this financial performance through lower capex in 2013 and firm working capital management. We have reduced our 2013 capex by 54 per cent to 504 million Euros. POLYSILICON benefits from accelerated growth in solar installations. Our shipments and bookings into Q1 are strong, with price improvements. After installations of 38 gigawatts last year, we predict an increase of installation to 43 to 52 Gigawatts in 2014. At mid-point, this represents a 25 per cent increase and there are some signs that hint to even higher installation numbers. Clean air issues and energy programs in China and Japan, a fast developing market for installations in the U.S and growing competitiveness of solar contribute to this expected increase. We expect high utilizations in our polysilicon plants as a result. Our POLYSILICON project in Tennessee is progressing as planned. We have announced this morning that we have found an amicable solution with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce on the trade dispute regarding our polysilicon imports into China. We have agreed to a minimum import price, based on a market price mechanism. As a result, we are able to continue to supply polysilicon to our Chinese customers without import duties. Overall, this is a very positive result, as it supports the Chinese solar industry s needs for high quality polysilicon in their quest for lower costs per watt from high output modules. The agreement shows in our view how dialogue in a cooperative spirit can overcome conflicting views on trade issues. A contract restructuring in POLYSILICON with a major customer benefits our Q1 with about 115 million Euros of retained prepayments and damages. We continue to supply this customer, however with less volume and at market prices. Page 3 of 7.
Siltronic continues its strategic transformation as presented in our Capital Markets Day last year. Acquiring the majority of the joint venture with Samsung allows us to consolidate the Singapore operations. In addition, the joint operation of our 300 mm plants should yield synergies from shared cost reduction programs, an exchange of best practices and optimized production allocation. With this move and the site closures of the last years, Siltronic is moving to a stronger global production footprint. After a difficult year in 2013, we are looking positively into 2014. Demand for polysilicon should continue to grow and prices are set to rise. European markets are recovering for the Chemical business. Unfortunately, the Euro is strengthening. We expect some energy cost increases here in Germany as well. However, these effects are more than compensated by our efforts to lower costs. This year we expect another three-digit million amount of cost savings. In summary, we expect sales to grow, EBITDA up by at least 10 per cent and net result to rise. All in all: Last year we have improved our market share in POLYSILICON, and in SILICONES. We have optimized the strategic set up of Siltronic through the takeover of the Singapore JV. Our market leadership in POLYMERS is unmatched and the future potential of BIOSOLUTIONS has been supported by the acquisition of our new production plant in Halle. All of this gives us the confidence to be optimistic about our future. Joachim will give you now more detail. Dr Rauhut Since you already saw our preliminaries in early February, let us not dwell too much on the past, but look forward. I will provide guidance for Page 4 of 7.
our segments on Q1 and full year and fill you in on some detail for the past Q4 where necessary. As Rudy said, we expect to increase our EBITDA for 2014 by at least 10 per cent. Strong volumes in all segments and firm pricing in some of them support this. This guidance is based on segment forecasts, which I will explain now. Our Q4 results included two special effects. One was in SILICONES, where the reversal of a loss provision established in 2010 for our Chinese Siloxane JV supported earnings with 14 million Euros. After a strong fourth quarter, we see increasing volumes but lower prices for standard products. Our efforts to convert more of our precursor siloxane into higher value added products continue with some success in personal care, medical devices and electronics, mostly in Asia. With overall stable raw material costs, we expect a SILICONES EBITDA slightly below prior year, but better than 2013 excluding the Q4 special effect. Sales in POLYMERS suffered in 2013 from a reversal of some styrene butadiene substitution mainly in paper and carpet as prices for butadiene fell in early 2013. For 2014, we expect the substitution process into VAE dispersions to regain traction, especially in the carpet industry. In dispersible powders, our focus is on transforming a larger share of unmodified dry mortar market into polymer-modified dry mortars. With sales growth mainly from China, India and the Americas, we expect a slight increase in full year EBITDA for 2014. BIOSOLUTIONS just completed the acquisition of SCIL Proteins, giving us access to GMP qualified large-scale fermenters. The acquisition complements our full service offer for the microbial manufacturing of biologics and gives us sufficient capacity to serve customers not only during clinical testing, but also for market supply. Overall, we expect good growth in sales at stable EBITDA for 2014. Please note that in 2013 the Chemicals business had some positive effects from temporary salary adjustments of 15 million euros, which will not be repeated in 2014. In POLYSILICON, we see volume and sales growth in 2014. As Rudy already said, we see solar installations between 43 and 52 Gigawatts in Page 5 of 7.
2014 globally. Pricing for solar products is trending over 2013 averages. We continue to focus on achieving another substantial cost reduction for polysilicon without compromising quality. With already high utilization rates and moderate price increases, EBITDA should improve over last year, showing a clean performance similar to our fourth quarter 2013. Demand in the first weeks of the year was high, so that we reduced inventories further. With strong demand for our product, we have now reached inventory levels close to what we consider a minimum for running the business. As Rudy already said, we will report about 115 million Euros of retained prepayments and damages from a major contract adjustment in Q1. In 2013, we had 78 million Euro special effects of this kind, whereby 8 million were booked in Q4. We expect to start to ramp the Tennessee facility in the second half of 2015 and will have the full capacity available for sale in 2016. As the technology continues to improve, we expect an increase in overall plant capacity and efficiency from process improvements. Siltronic Q4 included a special depreciation for disused assets of 31 million Euros, decreasing the EBIT. For 2014, we expect to consolidate the Singapore activities in 300 mm per the beginning of this fiscal year. Full year 2014 reported sales should benefit by 100 million Euros from this. Reported EBITDA will also increase. Given the massive price declines compared to the previous year, full-consolidated profit at Siltronic will lag last year s figure of 110 million Euros significantly. However, the fully consolidated 2014 result will also be significantly higher than the reported 2013 result under at-equity accounting at 27 million Euros. Overall, we expect stable shipments for 200 mm and see growth potential for 300 mm. Now, let us look at guidance for the Group. We expect Group sales to increase by a mid-single-digit percentage year over year. The stronger Euro has a dampening effect on sales. Following strong shipments and our cost reduction efforts, we expect EBITDA for the full year 2014 to increase by at least 10 per cent. This is certainly a cautious guidance and we hope to improve on this during the year. Combined with a still high tax rate of over 50 per cent this should lead to a better net income. Page 6 of 7.
In the first quarter, sales and EBITDA should be clearly above 1.1 billion Euros and 250 million Euros, respectively. For the full year, we see depreciation at 600 million Euros in 2014, with capex below that number at 550 million Euros. About half of this is for the Tennessee plant. Net financial debt should increase by 300 to 400 million Euros, following the consolidation of the Singapore JV and the continuing supply of polysilicon quantities for which we have received prepayments. Overall, net cash flow will be neutral on the full year, as we do not expect further substantial working capital effects. For WACKER 2014 is still a year of transformation. While we are finishing our last capital-intensive expansion projects, we are not yet reaping the full rewards. Given the foundation we laid, that should change over the coming years. To get there, we continue working on cost roadmaps. For 2014, we target three-digit million Euros in cost savings, supported by volume growth. In summary, we have navigated a tough 2013. This year, however, should show an improved performance towards our long-term targets. Page 7 of 7.