Errors last year it earned 63 million euros, 45.5% more than the previous year. This revenge The shareholder charged for the fiscal year 2022 will be the highest amount ever awarded by the Ercros chemical company, specifically a total of 32 million euros, 13 million for the shareholders and 19 million euros for the repurchase of its own shares. In a year marked by rising energy costs, adjusted ebitda reached 143 million euros, 52.3% higher than reached in 2021.
HE rising costsmainly energy but also raw materials and transportation, did not lessen an impact significant increase in demand permissive increase in the average price of products sold by company. The balance of successful product portfolio and installed productive capacity was the key to the positive balance of the year. Ercros has a solid financial position with around 158 million euros in liquidity, allowing 2023 to be the year of compliance. The chemical industry is highly cyclical and management always takes these ups and downs into account. “It’s too early to provide more precise estimates,” the company says in its 2023 forecasts.
Antonio Zabalza, president of Ercros, has dared to predict that the first half of 2023 will exhibit “weaker behavior than in the first half of 2022” and that there will be “an improvement in the second period”. According to Zabalza, this cycle of moderation will translate into a gradual decline in prices and a reduction in margins.
Cost control in 2022 allowed for increased profit despite a 10% decline in sales in tonnes sold. According to divisions, chlorine derivatives reached 673 million sales, up 39%, and doubled their adjusted ebitda of 125 million. The second most important segment was the precursors segment with revenue of 261 million, 9.8% more revenue, but EBITDA fell by half to 15 million, partly due to increased competition from countries with better energy costs. This was followed by the pharmacy area with a turnover of 65 million, an increase of 27%, and ebitda of three million (+50%).
Zabalza suggested that the company will review the planned 30 million investments in the new context and this year’s economic balance. According to the press report, one of the key elements for this year will be the result of the Spanish regulatory development of the planned reform of the wholesale electricity market in the EU and the aid program for gas-intensive consumers.