EANS-News: Oxea GmbH / Oxea Sarl reports strong first quarter results

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Luxembourg (euro adhoc) - First quarter highlights:
* Net sales were EUR377.0 million, up 30% from the prior year period
* Operating Result was EUR57.2 million versus EUR27.2 million in the prior year
period
* Net Income was EUR30.0 million versus EUR13.0 million in the prior year period
* Adjusted EBITDA was EUR65.7 million versus EUR36.7 million in the prior year
period

Oxea Sarl, a leading global supplier of Oxo Intermediates and Oxo Derivatives,
today announced first quarter net sales of EUR377.0 million, a 30% increase
compared with the corresponding period the prior year.
Oxea´s continued strong performance in the first quarter of 2011 further
underlines the robustness of the business model. Continued recovery in the US
and European regions coupled with strong demand from Asia again contributed to
another set of excellent results. The operating result more than doubled to
EUR57.2 million compared with EUR27.2 million in the corresponding period of the
prior year and operating margins increased to 15.2% compared with 9.4% in the
prior year period. EBITDA margins increased substantially to 17%. Q1 2011
Adjusted EBITDA at EUR65.7 million reflects an excellent performance for Oxea
and underlines the continued strong relationships with customers and the
valuable contribution of Oxea´s employees to the success of the business. After
the refinancing in July 2010, net debt has been reduced to approximately 1.9x
EBITDA on an LTM basis.

Three months ended
In EUR million March 31,
Unaudited 2011 2010
---------------------------------------
Net Sales 377.0 289.3
Gross Profit 68.1 34.0
SG&A (10.3) (7.6)
R&D (1.5) (1.5)
Other operating
income/(expense) 0.9 2.3
Operating Result 57.2 27.2
Net Income 30.0 13.0
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Adjusted EBITDA 65.7 36.7

Sales
Sales for the three months ended March 31, 2011 were EUR377.0 million, a 30%
increase compared with the corresponding period of the prior year. The increase
was driven by an increase of 5% in total volumes, improved product mix and the
pass through of higher raw material costs to customers. The volume increase was
particularly strong in our Oxo Derivatives segment, where volumes were some 11%
higher than in the prior year period. Volumes in the Intermediates segment were
some 3% higher than in the prior year period. EUR 200.0 million of our revenues
for the three months ended March 31, 2011, resulted from sales in Europe,
EUR107.4 million in NAFTA and EUR69.6 million in the rest of the world compared
to EUR143.7 million, EUR80.0 million and EUR65.6 million respectively in the
prior year period.

Gross profit
Gross profit for the three months ended March 31, 2011 doubled to EUR68.1
million compared with EUR34.0 million in the corresponding period of the prior
year. The increase of EUR34.1 million was attributable to higher volumes in both
Oxo Intermediates and Derivatives segments and improved margins which more than
offset the increase in raw materials and manufacturing fixed costs such that
gross profit increased to 18.1% of sales compared with 11.8% in the
corresponding period of the prior year.

Selling general & administration expense (SG&A)
SG&A expense for the three months ended March 31, 2011 increased to EUR10.3
million compared with EUR7.6 million in the corresponding period of the prior
year. The increase is primarily attributable to increased selling costs
associated with higher volumes, and higher personnel costs including salary
increases and accruals for employee bonuses.

Other operating income/(expense)
Net other operating income for the three months ended March 31, 2011 amounted to
EUR0.9 million compared with EUR2.3 million in the corresponding period of the
prior year. The decrease is primarily attributable to net foreign exchange
losses compared with net foreign exchange gains in the corresponding period of
the prior year.

Operating result
Operating result for the three months ended March 31, 2011 was EUR57.2 million
compared with EUR27.2 million in the corresponding period of the prior year
period as a result of increased volumes and improved operating margins partly
offset by higher SG&A expense other lower other operating income.

Net Income
Net income for the three months ended March 31, 2011 was EUR30.0 million
compared with EUR13.0 million in the corresponding period of the prior year as a
result of the improvement in margins and higher sale volumes with a
corresponding increase in operating profit partly offset by higher interest
expense arising from the refinancing in July 2010 and higher income taxes.

Adjusted EBITDA
EBITDA margins increased to 17%. Adjusted EBITDA was some EUR65.7 million
compared with EUR36.7 million in the corresponding period of the prior year
driven by the improved volumes and improved operating margins.

Cash Flow
The company continued to generate positive free cash flow. In the first quarter
of 2011 Oxea generated EUR20.0 million in cash from operating activities
compared with a utilization of EUR8.6 million in the corresponding period of the
prior year as a result of increased earnings and improved working capital which
were partly offset by higher cash taxes. Cash used in investing activities was
EUR5.6 million compared with EUR4.0 million in the corresponding period of the
prior year driven by an increased capital expenditure. Cash used in financing
activities was EUR23.9 million compared with EUR2.2 million in the corresponding
period of the prior year as a result of the semi annual payment of interest on
the Senior Secured Notes issued in July 2010.

Oxea is a global manufacturer of Oxo intermediates and derivatives such as
alcohols, polyols, carboxylic acids, specialty esters and amines. These products
are sold in the merchant market (where sales are to third party customers) and
used for the production of high-quality coatings, lubricants, cosmetics and
pharmaceutical products, flavorings and fragrances, printing inks and plastics.
In the 12 months ending December 2010, Oxea generated revenue of about EUR1.4
billion with approximately 1,330 employees in Europe, the Americas and Asia.

Forward looking statements
* This document contains financial information regarding the businesses and
assets of OXEA S.à r.l. (the "Company") and its consolidated subsidiaries (the
"Group"). Such financial information has not been audited, reviewed or verified
by any independent accounting firm. The inclusion of such financial information
in this document or any related presentation should not be regarded as a
representation or warranty by the Company, any of its respective affiliates,
advisors or representatives or any other person as to the accuracy or
completeness of such information´s portrayal of the financial condition or
results of operations by the Group.
* This document may contain information, data and predictions about our markets
and our competitive position. While we believe this data to be reliable, it has
not been independently verified, and we make no representation or warranty as to
the accuracy or completeness of such information set forth in this document.
Additionally, industry publications and reports from which such information,
data or predictions may be obtained generally state that the information
contained therein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable but
that the accuracy and completeness of such information is not guaranteed and in
some instances state that they do not assume liability for such information. We
cannot therefore assure you of the accuracy and completeness of such information
and we have not independently verified such information. In addition, we have
made statements in this document regarding our industry and position in the
industry based on our experience and our own investigation of market conditions.
We cannot assure you that the assumptions underlying these statements are
accurate or correctly reflect the state and development of, or our position in,
the industry, and none of our internal surveys or information has been verified
by any independent sources.
* Certain statements in this document are forward-looking. By their nature,
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties
because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not
occur in the future. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance. These factors include, among others: the cyclical and highly
variable nature of our business and its sensitivity to changes in supply and
demand; adverse and uncertain global economic conditions; the highly variable
nature of raw materials costs and any loss of key suppliers or supply shortages
or disruptions; the competitive nature of our industry; the ability to comply
with current or future laws and regulations relating to environmental, health
and safety matters as well as the safety of our products, related costs of
maintaining compliance and addressing liabilities as well as risks relating to
compliance with antitrust and tax laws; our reliance on a limited number of
suppliers for certain of our key raw materials; operational risks, including the
risk of environmental contamination and potential product liability claims;
operational interruptions at our facilities due to events that are outside of
our control such as severe weather conditions, unscheduled downtimes, terrorist
attacks, natural disasters or other events that may interrupt or damage our
operations or the impact of scheduled outages on our results of operations; the
risk that our insurance coverage may not be sufficient to cover all risks; risks
relating to the global nature of our operations, including, among others,
fluctuations in exchange rates; the loss of major customers or key customers for
certain of our products; the loss of key personnel; risks relating to
acquisitions and dispositions, including any impairment risks with respect to
historical acquisitions, our ability to successfully integrate acquired
businesses, and unexpected liabilities relating to such acquisitions or
contingent liabilities in connection with such dispositions; the requirement to
make further contributions to our pension schemes; the failure to protect our
intellectual property rights; limitations on our ability to adjust the quality
of certain products that we manufacture; and potential conflicts of interests
with our principal shareholder.
* These and other factors could adversely affect the outcome and financial
effects of the plans and events described herein. Forward-looking statements
contained in this document regarding past trends or activities should not be
taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the
future. New risks can emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to
predict all such risks, nor can we assess the impact of all such risks on our
business or the extent to which any risks, or combination of risks and other
factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in
any forward-looking statements. Neither the Company nor the Group undertakes any
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise. You should not place
undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of
this document.

Use of non IFRS financial information:
* EBITDA is defined as net income for the year before financial result, income
taxes, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA, is a supplemental measure of our
performance and liquidity that is not required by or presented in accordance
with IFRS. EBITDA is not a measurement of our financial performance or liquidity
under IFRS and should not be considered as an alternative to profit for the
period presented, results from operating activities or any other performance
measures derived in accordance with IFRS or as an alternative to cash flow from
operating activities as a measure of our liquidity. We believe EBITDA
facilitates operating performance comparisons from period to period and company
to company by eliminating potential differences caused by variations in capital
structures (affecting interest expense), tax positions (such as the impact on
periods or companies of change in effective tax rates or net operating losses)
and the age and book value and amortization of tangible and intangible assets
(which have an effect on related depreciation expense). We also present EBITDA
because we believe it is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and
other interested parties in the evaluation of similar issuers, the majority of
which present EBITDA when reporting their results. Finally, we present EBITDA as
a measure of our ability to service our debt.
* Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA adjusted to remove the effects of certain
non-cash and non-recurring expenses and charges. Adjusted EBITDA is a
supplemental measure of our performance and liquidity that is not required by or
presented in accordance with IFRS. Adjusted EBITDA is not a measurement of our
financial performance or liquidity under IFRS and should not be considered as an
alternative to profit for the period presented, results from operating
activities or any other performance measures derived in accordance with IFRS or
as an alternative to cash flow from operating activities as a measure of our
liquidity. We believe Adjusted EBITDA facilitates operating performance
comparisons from period to period and company to company by eliminating certain
non-recurring expenses and charges. We also present Adjusted EBITDA because we
believe it is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other
interested parties in the evaluation of similar issuers. Finally, we present
Adjusted EBITDA as a measure of our ability to service our debt.

Further inquiry note:
Neil Robertson
Managing Director (Finance, IT)
neil.robertson@oxea-chemicals.com

Birgit Reichel
Global Communications
birgit.reichel@oxea-chemicals.com
end of announcement euro adhoc
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company: Oxea GmbH
Otto-Roelen-Straße 3
D-46147 Oberhausen
phone: +49(0)208 693 3112
FAX: +49(0)208 693 3101
mail: birgit.reichel@oxea-chemicals.com
WWW: http://www.oxea-chemicals.com
sector: Chemicals
ISIN: XS0523636594
indexes:
stockmarkets: Open Market: Frankfurt
language: English

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