WACKER posts double-digit sales and earnings growth in Q2 2008

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Munich (euro adhoc) - July 31, 2008 - Wacker Chemie AG generated double-digit,
year-on-year sales and earnings growth in Q2 2008. Consolidated sales for the
quarter reached EUR1,123.0 million (Q2 2007: EUR959.0m) - a 17 percent gain.
This dynamic growth was primarily fueled by volume increases, higher prices and
the full consolidation of WACKER´s former partnership company APP. The weaker US
dollar, in contrast, dampened growth by 7 percent. Sales for the full first half
of 2008 reached EUR2,142.5 million, rising 13 percent compared to EUR1,902.7
million a year ago. Earnings growth was even more pronounced - despite the fact
that raw-material costs, energy costs and exchange-rate effects clearly exceeded
prior-year´s levels. In Q2 2008, WACKER posted earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of EUR317.9 million, up 22 percent from
the year-ago period (EUR260.8m). As a result, the EBITDA margin grew to 28.3
percent (Q2 2007: 27.2 percent). For the full first half of 2008, EBITDA totaled
EUR609.0 million compared to EUR526.3 million in last year´s first half.

Once again, WACKER´s main earnings drivers were polysilicon and semiconductors.
WACKER POLYSILICON´s EBITDA grew by EUR70.0 million, thus more than tripling
prior-year´s figure. At EUR112.0 million, Siltronic AG nearly matched last
year´s EBITDA (Q2 2007: EUR122.8m) and accounted for over a third of the Group´s
earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in Q2 2008. In
contrast, the chemical divisions saw their earnings impacted by higher
raw-material and energy costs. This meant they did not quite achieve their
prior-year EBITDA levels.

The Group´s Q2 earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose 26 percent to
EUR224.9 million (Q2 2007: EUR178.2m). Net income climbed 18 percent year on
year to EUR152.8 million (EUR130.0m). As a result, earnings per share amounted
to EUR3.08 (Q2 2007: EUR2.62), up 18 percent. For the full first-half of 2008,
WACKER generated an EBIT of EUR423.6 million (EUR366.1m). During the same
period, consolidated net income rose to EUR283.4 million (EUR244.5m) and
earnings per share reached EUR5.70 (EUR4.92).

The Munich-based chemical company confirmed its full-year 2008 forecast for
higher sales and earnings. Consolidated sales should exceed the prior-year
figure by clearly over 10 percent. EBITDA is expected to climb, too. All in all,
WACKER is investing roughly EUR1 billion in pursuing its growth and expansion
strategy during the current year.

"We´ve again managed to boost both sales and earnings despite the increasingly
difficult economic environment," said Group CEO Rudolf Staudigl in Munich on
Thursday. "Our success in the first six months was mainly driven by strategic
investments in capacity expansion and, above all, vibrant solar-industry demand.
With additional volumes and our market and cost leadership in many business
fields, we consider ourselves well prepared to progress on our growth course
even in a more difficult economic climate.

Regions
In Q2 2008, the WACKER Group posted further sales gains in Asia´s dynamic
markets, where sales reached EUR367.5 million (Q2 2007: EUR328.7m). Asia
accounted for 33 percent of the Group´s total second-quarter sales. Europe
(excluding Germany) took second place with EUR266.5 million (Q2 2007:
EUR271.5m). As for Germany, WACKER posted April-June sales of EUR248.4 million,
up 48 percent from the prior-year period (EUR168.4m). This means Germany had the
greatest regional sales gain in the period under review. Sharp German growth was
primarily due to two factors. First, the substantial rise in polysilicon
deliveries to Germany´s solar sector. Second, the full consolidation of the
former partnership company APP - a measure that also greatly influenced sales in
the Americas, where WACKER reported April-June sales of EUR205.5 million
(EUR160.9m). In the remaining regions, WACKER posted second-quarter sales of
EUR35.1 million (Q2 2007: EUR29.5m).

Net Cash Flow and Investments
In the second quarter 2008, WACKER generated a net cash flow of EUR104.8 million
(Q2 2007: EUR122.1m) even though its investments in current expansion projects
again surpassed the comparable prior-year figure. The fact that net cash flow
continued to remain strong was mainly due to upbeat business performance.
Additionally, customer prepayments for future polysilicon shipments had a
positive net cash flow effect of EUR30.8 million in the second quarter.

During Q2 2008, WACKER spent EUR181.4 million (Q2 2007: EUR180.7m) on strategic
growth projects and on additional investments in property, plant and equipment,
intangible assets and financial assets. The largest share of this sum - EUR84.1
million - went to WACKER POLYSILICON, which continued to expand capacity for
hyperpure polycrystalline silicon at Burghausen as scheduled.

In Q2 2008, WACKER Group started up three new production facilities, as part of
its drive to expand capacity for key strategic products in promising sectors and
growth regions. Early April saw the official start-up of WACKER SCHOTT Solar
GmbH´s site in Jena, Germany. Completed after only a six-month construction
phase, this new facility produces solar-grade multicrystalline silicon wafers.
Its nominal capacity is scheduled to reach 50 MW per year by fall 2008. In late
April, WACKER DYMATIC - a joint venture between Wacker Chemie AG and DYMATIC
Inc. - opened its new silicone emulsion plant at Zhangjiagang in China. The new
facility will produce 30,000 metric tons per year of silicone emulsions and
processing auxiliaries for China´s textile, leather and fiber industries. In
Singapore, Siltronic Samsung Wafer Pte. Ltd. started production of 300 mm
silicon wafers for the electronics industry in mid-June. Currently, these wafers
are undergoing final qualification by several customers, including the main
customer, Samsung Electronics.

Employees
In Q2 2008, WACKER´s employee numbers remained almost constant. On June 30,
2008, the Group had 15,769 employees (March 31, 2008: 15,660). German sites
accounted for 12,023 of the total (March 31, 2008: 11,935). Outside Germany,
WACKER employed 3,746 people at the end of Q2 2008 (March 31, 2008: 3,725).

Business Divisions
WACKER SILICONES reported total Q2 2008 sales of EUR380.6 million, beating the
prior-year period by 8 percent (Q2 2007: EUR353.6m). Sales growth stemmed from
volume gains and higher prices obtained in the marketplace. The division could
only partially offset raw-material cost increases (especially for silicon
metal), higher energy costs and the impact of a strong euro on exchange rates.
Thus, it did not quite match the prior-year earnings level. WACKER SILICONES
posted a second-quarter EBITDA of EUR60.5 million (Q2 2007: EUR68.0m), which
yielded an EBIDTA margin of 15.9 percent (Q2 2007: 19.2 percent).

At WACKER POLYMERS, total sales soared to EUR244.6 million for April-June 2008 -
a strong 46 percent increase over the second quarter of 2007 (EUR167.7m). This
sales gain was primarily due to the fact that APP (the former partnership
company acquired from Air Products) was consolidated for a full three months for
the first time. Adjusted for this effect, sales rose 3 percent compared to the
prior year. At EUR37.3 million, the division´s second-quarter EBITDA rose 8
percent year on year (Q2 2007: EUR34.2m). Sharp increases in raw-material,
energy and transport costs and the weak US dollar dampened earnings growth. The
EBITDA margin was 15.2 percent (Q2 2007: 20.6 percent).

The reorganization of WACKER FINE CHEMICALS as the Group´s biotech competence
center is increasingly benefiting the division´s earnings performance. Although
its Q2 sales total of EUR24.3 million was below last year´s second quarter
(EUR27.6m), EBITDA of EUR3.3 million almost reached the prior-year level
(EUR3.8m). The resultant EBITDA margin was 13.6 percent (13.8 percent). Volume
increases led to very high capacity-utilization rates, especially for biotech
products, such as cyclodextrins and cysteine. Capacity-utilization rates for
fine chemicals are currently strong, too.

In Q2 2008, WACKER POLYSILICON boosted its total sales to a record EUR194.2
million (Q2 2007: EUR97.9m) - a year-on-year increase of 98 percent. Thanks to
polysilicon capacity expansion at Burghausen, the division continued to benefit
from strong, sustained demand. A strong positive impact also came from price
effects. WACKER POLYSILICON´s earnings growth outstripped sales. Divisional
EBITDA reached EUR104.8 million in the period under review, growing more than
threefold (Q2 2007: EUR34.8m). At 54.0 percent, the Q2 EBITDA margin crossed the
50-percent threshold (Q2 2007: 35.5 percent).

Siltronic generated total Q2 sales of EUR351.7 million (Q2 2007: EUR370.9m).
That is 5 percent below last year´s second quarter but 2 percent above the first
quarter of 2008. Q2 sales were influenced, on the one hand, by a price drop for
all wafer diameters and, on the other, by the strong euro´s impact on exchange
rates. Volumes for 300 mm wafers rose again. This did not, however, offset
volume decreases for 200 mm wafers and smaller diameters. As in Q1 2008,
Siltronic again used free crystal-growing capacity to produce monocrystals for
the solar industry. Solar business had a very positive effect on sales, as well
as earnings margins. Siltronic posted an April-June EBITDA of EUR112.0 million
(Q2 2007: EUR122.8m). The corresponding EBITDA margin was 31.8 percent (Q2 2007:
33.1 percent).

Outlook
At mid-2008, WACKER and its five business divisions were firmly on course
despite noticeable economic headwinds. Consequently, the Executive Board
reaffirms its full-year forecast for 2008, anticipating a year-on-year sales
growth of clearly above 10 percent. It also expects earnings before interest,
taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to climb. The final level of
earnings growth will largely depend on how trends will materialize for the
global economy, raw-material and energy costs, and exchange rates.

Q2 saw the successful start-up of several new production facilities. For the
remainder of the year, WACKER will mainly focus its efforts to drive operational
growth on opening production plants for pyrogenic silica (Zhangjiagang, China)
and polysilicon (Burghausen, Germany), expanding its WACKER SCHOTT Solar joint
venture (Jena, Germany), continuing development of the Group´s new Nanjing
polymer site (China), and integrating APP and WPS - WACKER´s former partnership
companies - into WACKER POLYMERS.

With these and other measures, WACKER Group intends to reinforce its market
positions and competitive strength in tomorrow´s key markets. By doing so, it
focuses on creating the right conditions for continued sustainable and
profitable growth. Total investments in the current fiscal year are expected to
amount to some EUR1 billion.

WACKER's Key Figures
|EUR million |Q2 2008 |Q2 2007 |Change | |6M 2008|6M 2007|Change |
| | | |in % | | | |in % |
|Sales |1,123.0 |959.0 |17 | |2,142.5|1,902.7|13 |
|EBITDA1 |317.9 |260.8 |22 | |609.0 |526.3 |16 |
|EBITDA margin2 |28.3% |27.2% |4 | |28.4% |27.7% |3 |
|EBIT3 |224.9 |178.2 |26 | |423.6 |366.1 |16 |
|EBIT margin2 |20.0% |18.6% |8 | |19.8% |19.2% |3 |
| | | | | | | | |
|Financial result |-3.1 |-6.2 |-50 | |-3.9 |-11.6 |-66 |
|Income before taxes |221.8 |172.0 |29 | |419.7 |354.5 |18 |
|Net income |152.8 |130.0 |18 | |283.4 |244.5 |16 |
| | | | | | | | |
|Earnings per share in |3.08 |2.62 |18 | |5.70 |4.92 |16 |
|EUR | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Investments (incl. |181.4 |180.7 |0 | |326.9 |271.7 |20 |
|financial assets) | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Investments in |2.2 |0.0 |n.a. | |-171.2 |0.0 |n.a. |
|acquisitions | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Net cash flow |104.8 |122.1 |-14 | |101.5 |346.3 |-71 |
| | | | | |
|EUR million |June 30,|June 30,|Dec. 31| |
| |2008 |2007 |, 2007 | |
|Equity |1,906.1 |1,695.2 |1,865.6| |
|Financial liabilities |222.2 |291.0 |217.8 | |
|Provisions for pensions |379.2 |362.5 |369.2 | |
|Net financial debt |-101.6 |144.3 |-148.7 | |
|Total assets |4,225.0 |3,588.3 |3,918.1| |
| | | | | |
|Employees (number at end|15,769 |14,892 |15,044 | |
|of period) | | | | |

1 EBITDA is EBIT before depreciation and amortization.
2 Margins are calculated based on sales.
3 EBIT is the result from continuing operations for the reporting period before
interest and other financial result, limited partnership interests and income
tax.

Information for editorial offices: the Q2 2008 report can be downloaded from
WACKER´s website (www.wacker.com) under Investor Relations.

This press release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions and
estimates of WACKER´s Executive Board. Although we assume the expectations in
these forward-looking statements are realistic, we cannot guarantee they will
prove to be correct. The assumptions may harbor risks and uncertainties that may
cause the actual figures to differ considerably from the forward-looking
statements. Factors that may cause such discrepancies include, among other
things, changes in the economic and business environment, variations in exchange
and interest rates, the introduction of competing products, lack of acceptance
for new products or services, and changes in corporate strategy. WACKER does not
plan to update the forward-looking statements, nor does it assume the obligation
to do so.

Further inquiry note:
Christof Bachmair
Media Relations & Information
Tel.: +49 (0)89 6279 1830
E-Mail: [email protected]

end of announcement euro adhoc
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emitter: Wacker Chemie AG
Hanns-Seidel-Platz 4
D-81737 München
phone: +49 (0) 89 6279 01
FAX: +49 (0) 89 6279 1770
mail: [email protected]
WWW: http://www.wacker.com
sector: Chemicals
ISIN: DE000WCH8881
indexes: Midcap Market Index, MDAX, CDAX, Classic All Share, HDAX, Prime
All Share
stockmarkets: regulated dealing/prime standard: Börse Frankfurt
language: English

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