Wacker Chemie (ETR:WCH) reported full-year 2025 sales of EUR 5.5 billion and EBITDA before special items of around EUR 529 million, results that management said were in line with the company’s revised guidance from October. Speaking on the company’s full-year results call, CEO Dr. Christian Hartel stressed that while the outcome matched expectations, it “is not where we want to be,” pointing to a reported net loss of EUR 805 million that was heavily affected by restructuring provisions and impairments.
Management said the profit-and-loss statement included about EUR 705 million of restructuring provisions and impairments, and CFO Dr. Tobias Ohler added that around EUR 700 million in impairments, write-offs, and restructuring expenses were booked across the P&L in 2025. As a result of the negative earnings and in line with its dividend policy, Hartel said Wacker will propose to the annual general meeting on May 6 that no dividend be distributed.
Cost program PACE targets more than EUR 300 million in annual savings
Against that backdrop, Wacker launched a companywide cost-cutting initiative called PACE in October, which Hartel characterized as the largest cost program in the company’s history. The program’s stated goal is to reduce production and administrative costs by more than EUR 300 million annually, with focus areas including labor productivity, maintenance and engineering, production-related services, and procurement.
Management said it expects EUR 200 million of savings already in 2026, with all measures defined and implementation underway. The full set of measures is expected to be implemented by the end of 2027. Hartel said headcount reductions are unavoidable, with more than 1,500 positions to be reduced worldwide, “most of them” at German sites.
In the Q&A, management said implementation is progressing, with measures in China described as already finished, “a lot” already done in the U.S., and negotiations with the works council ongoing in Germany. Ohler said non-personnel measures tend to take effect more quickly and that personnel measures would roll through over the year, producing “slight progression” toward the EUR 200 million savings target.
2026 outlook: modest sales growth, EBITDA range of EUR 550 million to EUR 700 million
For 2026, Wacker forecast low single-digit percentage sales growth and EBITDA of EUR 550 million to EUR 700 million. The company expects capital expenditures of around EUR 300 million, “well below last year,” as major investment projects have been completed and focus shifts to filling capacity. Net cash flow is expected to be positive and “significantly higher” than last year, which management said should reduce net financial debt by year-end.
Hartel and Ohler both flagged heightened uncertainty tied to recent events in the Middle East and volatile energy markets. Hartel said the full-year outlook does not include potential impacts from those developments because they cannot be reliably determined. Ohler added that energy and raw material prices had climbed in the prior week and said Wacker would seek to pass higher costs on to customers “as we have done in the past,” while acknowledging the difficulty in forecasting the impact.
For the first quarter of 2026, management guided to sales of about EUR 1.35 billion and EBITDA of EUR 140 million to EUR 160 million, compared with EUR 119 million a year earlier. Ohler said sales would be pressured by exchange-rate headwinds, while EBITDA should improve year over year due to cost savings.
2025 results reflect major non-cash charges and balance sheet actions
Ohler said reported 2025 EBITDA was EUR 427 million, while EBITDA before restructuring expenses was EUR 529 million, down 29% year over year. He attributed the year’s performance to lower volumes and, in some cases, lower prices, as well as negative currency effects.
Key special items discussed on the call included:
- EBIT of -EUR 180 million, including EUR 103 million of restructuring expenses and EUR 102 million of asset impairments
- A EUR 89 million goodwill impairment in the Biosolutions business
- A EUR 308 million impairment of Wacker’s stake in Siltronic
- A EUR 194 million write-off of deferred tax assets in Germany
Ohler emphasized that of the roughly EUR 700 million total charges, about EUR 600 million were non-cash. He described the EUR 103 million restructuring provision for PACE as covering expected costs and said the company does not expect further provisions for the program “in this year.” He also said valuation adjustments taken at the end of 2025 “significantly de-risked” the balance sheet.
Wacker ended 2025 with EUR 1.48 billion of liquidity and EUR 3.76 billion in equity. Ohler said liquidity benefited from working-capital measures, with total working capital investment down 11% year over year, including inventories down EUR 268 million and receivables down EUR 76 million. He noted that these actions “clearly weighed on fourth quarter margins,” particularly in the two chemical divisions.
Liquidity was also supported by a EUR 435 million Schuldschein issuance with 3-, 5-, and 7-year tranches. Despite the net loss, Wacker reported an equity ratio of 45%. The company generated EUR 543 million in gross cash flow, paid a EUR 124 million dividend during 2025, and ended the year with net debt of EUR 886 million.
Segment performance: mixed results, with semiconductors highlighted in polysilicon
Silicones posted 2025 sales of about EUR 2.73 billion, down 3%, with full-year EBITDA of EUR 336 million, 1% below 2024. Ohler cited weak order intake and uncertainty in end markets including automotive, construction, and consumer-related industries such as textiles, alongside intensified imports from Asia into European commodity markets. For 2026, Wacker expects Silicones sales to be at the prior-year level, with cost savings supporting a slightly higher EBITDA margin.
Polymers reported 2025 sales of EUR 1.38 billion, down 6%, and EBITDA of EUR 158 million, down 19%. Management pointed to lower volumes, negative FX effects, and lower average selling prices. Construction-related powders showed small growth, while Western Europe and China remained weak; consumer-related dispersions saw lower demand. For 2026, Wacker again expects sales around the prior-year level and a slightly improved EBITDA margin due to cost savings.
Biosolutions delivered sales of EUR 360 million, down 4%, with EBITDA of EUR 21 million versus EUR 35 million a year earlier. Ohler said soft demand in established products and reductions in BioPharma, alongside low utilization rates, weighed on results; inventory management also hurt fourth-quarter EBITDA. For 2026, Wacker expects high single-digit percentage sales growth and EBITDA of around EUR 30 million.
Polysilicon generated 2025 sales of EUR 883 million, down 7%, with EBITDA of EUR 96 million. Management said low solar demand and very low utilization rates drove the decline, though semiconductor-related (“semi”) business “developed very strongly,” with volumes up by a double-digit percentage year over year. Hartel highlighted a new etching line, describing Wacker as the “undisputed global market and quality leader” for ultrapure semiconductor-grade polysilicon and linking demand to data centers and AI-driven applications. For 2026, Wacker expects polysilicon sales to be low double-digit percentage higher than 2025, while EBITDA is forecast to be around the prior-year level despite higher energy costs due to lower CO2 compensation. Management said higher semi sales and efficiency gains should support earnings.
In Q&A, management declined to disclose a detailed split between semiconductor and solar polysilicon but said Wacker is already selling more semiconductor polysilicon “not only in sales but also in volume,” and it expects double-digit growth in semi again in 2026. On solar, management said the business remains challenging, but Wacker has long-term contracts in 2026 and sees solar as “more on a steady side.” Hartel also tied the future of solar to the outcome of U.S. Section 232, saying that if restrictions are not meaningful, it would be “very clear that solar will not be a continued business” and that Wacker would likely have “one plant too many” on the polysilicon side.
Others posted 2025 EBITDA of -EUR 185 million, including the EUR 103 million PACE restructuring provision booked in the fourth quarter. Excluding that provision, Others EBITDA would have been -EUR 82 million, which management attributed to lower absorption of infrastructure costs and low hydroelectricity output. For 2026, Wacker forecast Others EBITDA of -EUR 50 million, citing continued underutilization of infrastructure.
About Wacker Chemie (ETR:WCH)
Wacker Chemie AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides chemical products worldwide. It operates through four divisions: Wacker Silicones, Wacker Polymers, Wacker Biosolutions, and Wacker Polysilicon. The Wacker Silicones division offers silanes, siloxanes, silicone fluids, silicone emulsions, silicone elastomers, silicone resins, and pyrogenic silica. The Wacker Polymers division provides binders and polymeric additives, such as dispersible polymer powder and vinyl acetate-ethylene dispersions, which are used in construction, paper, adhesive, paint, coating, and basic chemical industries.
