Investing.com -- Wacker Chemie (ETR:WCHG) expects its 2025 sales to rise compared to last year, driven by regional growth and increased volume, particularly in silicone products and semiconductor-grade polysilicon, though at slightly lower selling prices.
The German specialty chemicals company projected revenue between 6.1 billion and 6.4 billion euros ($6.65 billion to $6.98 billion) for 2025, up from 5.72 billion euros in 2024.
Wacker Chemie’s shares rose 1% in European trading as of 09:32 GMT.
It also forecast annual EBITDA in the range of 700 million to 900 million euros, with the midpoint of that outlook missing the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 864 million euros.
The company expects Q1 2025 EBITDA to come in at 135 million euros, 5% ahead of the consensus.
"Demand for our silicones, especially for specialty products, and semiconductor-grade polysilicon continues to show a very positive development. We expect to see higher volumes in these areas this year," Chief Executive Christian Hartel said in a statement.
Despite the growth outlook, Hartel noted that the business environment remains challenging, with economic weakness still affecting customer order patterns.
The Munich-based company anticipates approximately 10% sales growth in its silicones division.
Meanwhile, revenue from its polysilicon segment is expected to reach between 1.0 billion and 1.3 billion euros, an increase from 949 million euros in 2024, supported by higher semiconductor-grade polysilicon volumes.
Polysilicon EBITDA for the year is expected to range from 100 million euros to 250 million euros, with the midpoint missing the 187 million euros consensus projection.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) analysts see Wacker Chemie’s earnings positioned between two potential scenarios.
In the current environment, profitability is limited by weak demand for solar-grade polysilicon and the need for "international" pricing to sustain margins.
However, a more bullish scenario could emerge if the U.S. begins importing Wacker’s material at a premium, allowing the company to generate profits from both its solar-grade and leading semiconductor-grade polysilicon.
“Today’s results highlight the sensitivity to this issue with a €100m-€250m ’25 guide for Polysilicon but provides no certainties,” analysts led by Thomas P. Wrigglesworth added.
“That said, the implied value for Polysilicon in the shares today based on using our SoTP to solve for the current share price is €-1bn, for a business that is still generating €100m p.a. EBITDA.”
Wacker Chemie also announced plans to propose a dividend of 2.50 euros per share, amounting to a total payout of 124 million euros.