Letter from the Management Board | About This Report | Sustainability Management | Corporate Governance | Corporate Bodies and Management | Report of the Supervisory Board | Creating Added Value at ALTANA | Group Management Report | Products | Safety and Health | Environment | Human Resources | Social Commitment | Consolidated Financial Statements (condensed version) | Multi-Year Overview | Global Compact: Communication on Progress (COP) | ALTANA worldwide | List of Full Ownership | Overview - About This Report | Contact
Group Management Report
In 2019, ALTANA mastered a challenging market environment and at the same time invested heavily in the future.
The weakening of demand in important industrial sectors, in particular the automotive industry, which already began in mid-2018, and the overall economic downturn, particularly in China, had a significant impact on the entire business year. The slightly lower material cost quota and a stringent cost management had a positive effect, but were unable to fully compensate for the sales-related decline in earnings. Nevertheless, the EBITDA margin remained within the long-term target corridor of 18 to 20 percent, despite considerable expenses for research and development and digitalization. In addition, we set the course for ALTANA’s future profitable growth through acquisitions.