International. Brenntag announced that it has raised its key performance indicators and operating EBITDA in fiscal 2016. The company explained that this performance was achieved in an economic environment that varied considerably in the Group's regions: In North America and Latin America were negatively affected by various economic and political factors, the existing business in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and Asia Pacific regions had very good results.
Brenntag said the acquisitions contributed positively to the results. The strengths of the business model were evident and the Group was able to translate its operating profit into high free cash flow in 2016.
Brenntag generated sales of €10,498.4 million in 2016, an increase of 1.5% (+2.9% in constant currency). The Group also recorded strong gross profit growth (a particularly important metric for Brenntag) of 4.6% year-on-year (+6.0% at constant currency) to €2,369.3 million. Operating EBITDA stood at €810.0 million (+0.3% as indicated, +1.9% at constant exchange rates) and therefore in the middle of the expected range for the 2016 financial year.
Brenntag's Latin American companies generated a gross profit of 170.9 million euros in 2016, which meant a decrease of 15.1% compared to the previous year (-13.4% in constant currency). Operating EBITDA reached €45.9 million, a decrease of 29.1% (-27.6% at constant currency).
The company explained that this decrease in revenue is mainly due to the significant devaluation of the local currency in Venezuela. In addition, the environment in several countries in the Latin American region was marked by a high level of uncertainty and volatility, especially in Brazil.
Steven Holland, Chief Executive Officer of Brenntag AG, said: "We have a positive opinion on business development in EMEA and expect to see a progressive improvement in the North American environment. The oil and gas business is on a stable trend and should not present a headwind. For Asia Pacific we are optimistic and expect to see a continued positive development of our business. We are constantly working on improvements in all regions in order to drive the growth of the organic business. This includes numerous global, regional and local initiatives. We remain on track across all of our regions and believe Brenntag is ideally positioned to continue its growth trajectory in 2017."
