Swiss chemical giant Clariant (SWX:CLN) reported a significant drop in Q3 sales on Monday, with a decrease of 21% to CHF 1.03 billion ($1.14 billion) from CHF 1.31 billion in the same period last year. The company attributed this decline to weak demand in end markets, which negatively impacted both its additives and care chemicals businesses.
The additives sector experienced a sharp fall, with EBITDA dropping by 62% and global sales declining by 24%. This was primarily due to continued destocking. Meanwhile, the care chemicals segment saw sales and EBITDA decrease by 28% and 37%, respectively.
Overall, Clariant's EBITDA plunged by 28% to CHF 159 million, pushing the margin down to 15.4%. This met analysts' expectations based on a company-provided consensus.
Despite these setbacks, Clariant is maintaining its 2023 targets of CHF 4.55 billion - CHF 4.65 billion in sales and CHF 650 million - CHF 700 million EBITDA. While the company expects inflation to ease, it does not anticipate an economic recovery in the final quarter of the year.
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