Germany. The chemical company Cognis increased its external net sales by 5.5% to US$3,958 million in 2008. Operating profit (EBITDA adjustment) fell slightly by 2.6% to $351 million (about US$463 million). This is due to the high costs in raw materials and energy, as well as the unfavorable exchange rates and a fall in sales volumes, which began to appear in the fourth period of the previous year.Return on sales (adjusted Ebitda as a percentage of sales) was 11.7%. Due to lower restructuring prices, income before interest and taxes increased from $5 million to $209 million (US$275 million). Net losses were among the special items at 63 million euros, representing an improvement of 57 million euros (US$75 million), compared to 2007.
The most significant growth of the company was in Central and South America (US$259 million, growing by 20.9%). In Europe sales increased by 4.1%, in North America they increased by 3.1% and Asia Pacific also reported growth with 9.2%.
