Dusseldorf This week Evonik and Brenntag, two of the leading German chemical companies, presented their quarterly results. As different as the business models of the two companies are, they share one thing: their confidence.
They are not alone in this. While the economy is weakening and concerns about a gas supply freeze by Russia are driving the economy, many players in the chemical industry are largely optimistic about their business development. Evonik and Brenntag, for example, expect strong profits. They were also satisfied with the quarter just ended: Despite rising energy and raw material prices, Evonik increased sales by 31 percent to EUR 4.7 billion. The jump at chemical dealer Brenntag was even bigger: it went up by 37 percent to almost 5.1 billion euros. The order books are full.
“It will only be foreseeable in the summer months whether something will change in the ordering power,” says Markus Mayer, Head of the Research Department at Baader Bank. The economic and political problems in China clouded the prospects. “For Evonik, for example, China is the most important market. A third of all chemical products worldwide are produced there,” explains Mayer.
On the other hand, Mayer is more relaxed about the growing uncertainties on the part of energy supplies and prices: “I do believe that the European and especially the German chemical industry will see skid marks in the course of a gas stop. But I don’t think the lights will go out in the German chemical industry.”
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