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interviews
Mr. Pontzen, the closing of the contract with Saudi
Aramco on the synthetic rubber business in the past year
has been a milestone for Lanxess. What are you getting
operationally from this joint venture (JV)?
With the joint venture Arlanxeo, which we have
established with Aramco, we are closing a strategic
gap. Because other than our largest competitors in
the synthetic rubber business, we so far had not
been backwards integrated. We are, though, still tied
with long term supply contracts to other suppliers, but
in the next four to five years we shall also conclude
contracts with Saudi Aramco for raw material supplies.
Does this mean, as a reverse argument, that Lanxess,
for the next three years, will not have operational
advantages from the joint venture?
It is a strategic long term decision. On the short
term we have overcapacities in the global synthetic
rubber market, which will even increase in the next
18 months, because additional capacities will come
to the market, and consequently price pressures
will continue. These challenges, the joint venture,
with two strong partners, can master better than
one alone. Starting 2019 the situation should again
improve.
“WE WANT TO BE A RELIABLE PAYER OF
DIVIDENDS”
THE CFO OF LANXESS: THE JOINT VENTURE IN THE SYNTHETIC RUBBER BUSINESS IS STRIVING FOR
AN ACTIVE ROLE IN THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE INDUSTRY - BUT THE FOCUS IS ON BUSINESSES
WITH LESS CYCLICALITY.
Interview with Mr Michael Pontzen, CFO of Lanxess AG, Börsen-Zeitung, June 11, 2016, article provided by GEFIU, Asso-
ciation of Chief Financial Officers Germany
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