In Q2 2017, German Wacker Chemie AG posted sales of €1,218 million ($1,453 million; Q2 2016: €1,199 million). EBITDA was €253 million, about 4 percent less than last year (€265.0 million), but almost 11 percent more than a quarter ago (€229.3 million). Net income for the reporting quarter amounted to €60.5 million (Q2 2016: €58.9 million). Group sales edged up in every region. The biggest increase was in the Americas, where sales rose by some 4 percent to €214.2 million (Q2 2016: €207.0 million). Sales in Europe reached €506.0 million, up 1 percent over last year’s figure of €499.0 million. In Asia, sales reached €440.3 million (Q2 2016: €436.5 million), likewise an increase of 1 percent.

Wacker’s Polysilicon business unit generated total sales of €246.7 million. That was 9 percent down from the year-earlier figure (€272.2 million) and around 8 percent less than a quarter ago (€268.1 million). The decline was mainly due to polysilicon prices, which were lower both year over year and quarter over quarter. Volumes expanded noticeably during the reporting quarter. Wacker Polysilicon’s EBITDA in the quarter under review came in at €71.3 million, compared with €77.7 million last year. That was a decrease of 8 percent and was on a par with the preceding quarter’s level (€70.5 million). According to the company, several factors impacted year-over-year EBITDA performance in different ways. Alongside lower polysilicon prices, EBITDA was influenced not only by last year’s special income from advance payments retained and damages received from solar-sector customers, but also by cost developments, including the start-up of the Charleston site in Tennessee, USA. Compared with the preceding quarter, the division made up for the decline in polysilicon prices by achieving cost reductions with the help of productivity-enhancing measures and technical improvements.