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Interviews
The joint venture partners have bound themselves
together for the next five years. What will happen
thereafter?
We have obligated ourselves for five years for a joint path,
and we thereby also want to accompany the expected
consolidation of the market. How things will continue
after five years, we shall decide by then.
Arlanxeo wants to accompany the expected
consolidation. How has one to imagine this to be? Are
there agreements as to how in the situation of a large
acquisition the partners Lanxess and Saudi Aramco will
be co-sharing the financing?
In a joint venture it is important, that the owners do agree
as to the strategic orientation. There is agreement as to
the evaluation, that the market will consolidate itself in
the coming years.
we want to move away from cyclical businesses
with high raw material cost components
There is also agreement, that we - Lanxess as the largest
producer of synthetic rubber and Saudi Aramco as the
largest integrated energy group of the world - shall
actively, with Arlanxeo, join in the consolidation of the
market and jointly will review upcoming opportunities.
If one subtracts at Lanxess the synthetic rubber business,
then the Lanxess group in 2015 stood for a turnover
of 5 billion Euro, and for operating earnings before
depreciation of a good 500 million Euro. Is this enough
for a standalone business?
These are purely hypothetical numbers. The entire clear
vision for the “new” Lanxess is Growth. With this we
want to increase the q uality of the portfolio and the
returns. That means, we want to move away from cyclical
businesses with high raw material cost components, and
focus more on smaller and medium sized markets with
less cyclicality. On this way we shall march forward in
the coming years – by way of organic and non-organic
growth.
This sounds as if you have already written off, at least in
your thoughts, the synthetic rubber business.
To the contrary: We have bound ourselves at least for
the next five years, and we are convinced, that there will
be opportunities in this area. We are consolidating this
business still for three years in the Lanxess Group, and we
shall closely accompany the joint venture. The medium
term focus, however, is clearly on the new Lanxess - this
is the business with specialty chemicals, intermediates and
high performance plastics.
The question, however, is, whether Lanxess - without the
synthetic business - is still big enough, for being able to
continue also its path as an independent company group.
For us it is decisive, to increase the economic value of the
company group. This will be achieved, when we invest
the money, available to us, in such a form, that the quality
of the return increases - on the one hand by making
the cake larger, on the other hand by way of more stable
operating earnings.
As a publicly listed corporation, however, one cannot
disregard the matter of size. Lanxess itself, here has
special experience. After the rise into the DAX30 Stock
Index of the largest German listed corporations in 2012,
followed the descent last year into the MDAX Stock Index
of the 50 medium sized German listed corporations, and
thereby the loss of a number of institutional investors,
due to the decreased size.
The evaluation of the corporation always takes place on
the basis of the presented data and of the expectations.
We are stepping up in order to increase the valuation, and
we are convinced, that we are on the right path. This is also
like the investors look at us.
Exactly against this background, there is the question,
why Lanxess wants to put 200 mio Euro into the buyback
of its own shares? Nothing changes through this as to the
value of the corporation.
With the closing of the joint venture we have received a
revenue of 1,2 mio Euro. We have decided, to put a part of
the revenue into organic growth, a part into deleveraging,
and a part into a share buyback. This form of allocation we
do regard as adequate and reasonable. And with the share
buyback, we increase the corporation value per share.
Has there been pressure from the investors?
No. We simply want to be transparent. We have various
stakeholders, whom we want to serve. To our employees
we have signalled, that we do invest, to the creditors that
we are reducing the debt, and to the shareholders that
we are giving back something to them because they have
helped us two years ago at the start of our re-orientation.
You want to invest 400 mio Euro into organic growth. Do
you have, other than the announced further investment
into a production plant of fine chemicals, already other
projects?
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