International. Evonik Industries AG reported that it has met its revenue forecast for 2016. With adjusted EBITDA of €2,165 million, revenues were at the upper limit of the range of €2.0 million to €2.2 billion. Although volumes have shown solid growth of 3%, sales fell by 6% to €12.7 billion due to falling prices.
"At 17%, the adjusted EBITDA margin is still good," said Klaus Engel, Chairman of the Executive Board. "The successful acquisition of Air Products' specialty additives division and the proposed acquisition of Huber's silica businesses represent additional growth momentum, as well as opening up new prospects for our portfolio."
At the Annual Shareholders' Meeting to be held on 23 May, Evonik's Executive Board and Board will propose a dividend of €1.15 per share. Based on the closing price at the end of 2016, representing a dividend yield of 4.1%. "The high free cash flow of €810 million allows us to achieve this level of disbursement without damaging our ambitious growth targets," Engel added.
After an exceptionally strong performance in the previous year, the situation normalized revenues in 2016. Evonik was able to partially compensate for the weak momentum of the world economy, the low price of oil and the normalization of the prices of animal feed products. Therefore, adjusted EBITDA was 12% below the exceptional level of the previous year. Adjusted net income also decreased from the previous year to €930 million.
