Switzerland’s Clariant sees slight sales drop in 2023

(Reuters) -Clariant said on Thursday it expects annual sales to slightly decline in 2023 after reporting sales for the full year fairly in line with expectations, driven by catalyst chemicals.

The company, whose chemicals are used in personal and home care products, said it expects 2023 sales of around 5 billion Swiss francs ($5.30 billion), down from 5.198 billion a year earlier.

The outlook included a net negative impact of around 130 million francs from divestments and a bolt-on acquisition, the company said.

It also expects an increasing negative annualized hit from the Sunliquid plant in Romania and a persisting inflationary environment.

“In the fourth quarter of 2022, pricing continued to have a significant positive impact on sales growth and EBITDA margin, despite softer end markets in some businesses,” Chief Executive Officer Conrad Keijzer said in a statement.

In recent months, Clariant has managed to offset raw materials and energy costs hitting the industry by passing them on to customers through price increases.

Clariant said it aimed to improve reported group core profit margin level in 2023, as it expects a continued recovery in its catalysts business to offset lower sales volumes in its other units.

Catalyst sales rose 18% in local currency in the fourth quarter, mainly driven by volume growth.

The company said in October it expected prices for raw materials and energy to have peaked.

($1 = 0.9426 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Linda Pasquini and Marta Frackowiak; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Sonia Cheema)