Wacker Chemie misses Q3 forecasts as solar industry concerns hit polysilicon sales
Adds CEO comments in paragraphs 2, 4-5, detail on sales in paragraphs 3, 8
Oct 28 (Reuters) -German speciality chemicals maker Wacker Chemie WCHG.DE reported third-quarter results below market expectations on Monday due to lower sales volumes of its polysilicon, a key material used in semiconductors and solar panels.
"The USA's ongoing antidumping investigations into solar imports from some countries in Southeast Asia has led to market uncertainty," CEO Christian Hartel said in the statement.
The polysilicon unit's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 36% to 29 million euros ($31.3 million) while sales declined 39% to 209 million euros in the quarter, both below analysts' estimates.
Weaker demand for solar grade polysilicon was the main driver for the decline, while the hyperpure semiconductor grade polysilicon business performed well, Hartel said.
He added that Wacker's customers that sell products directly to consumers were facing weak demand, making them cautious when placing orders.
In early July, Germany's chemical industry lobby VCI, which represents around 1,900 companies, said the mood in the industry remained cautious, with the lack of orders, high energy prices and bureaucracy being the biggest concerns for the sector.
Wacker, which supplies polysilicon for roughly half of the world's semiconductor chips, reported quarterly EBITDA of 152 million euros, unchanged from a year earlier and below the 161 million expected by analysts in a company-provided poll.
Its third-quarter sales fell 6% to 1.43 billion euros, also below analysts' estimate of 1.46 billion euros.
The Bavaria-based group confirmed its earlier 2024 forecast for EBITDA in the upper half of a 600 million to 800 million euro range and sales of between 6 billion and 6.5 billion euros.
($1 = 0.9260 euros)
Reporting by Antonis Pothitos in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi
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