Kemira Oyj's Interim Report January-September 2013: Organic revenue growth with improved operative EBIT margin, operative EBIT outlook adjusted

Kemira Oyj
Stock Exchange Release
October 22, 2013 at 2.30 pm (CET+1)

This is a summary of the January – September 2013 Interim report. The complete January – September 2013 Interim report with tables is attached to this release and available at www.kemira.com/investors.

Third quarter:

• Organic revenue growth was 3% in local currencies. Reported revenue decreased 2% to EUR 553.7 million (567.2), due to unfavorable currency exchange rates and divestments.
• Operative EBIT increased 1% to EUR 47.5 million (46.8) with an improved margin of 8.6% (8.3%).
• The reported earnings per share increased to EUR 0.09 (0.00).

January-September:

• Organic revenue growth was 4% in local currencies. Reported revenue was EUR 1,683.9 million (1,682.4).
• Operative EBIT increased 7% to EUR 129.7 million (121.4) with a margin of 7.7% (7.2%).
• Operative earnings per share decreased to EUR 0.53 (0.64), mainly due to the lower income from the associated companies.
• Kemira maintains its revenue outlook for 2013, but adjusts its operative EBIT outlook. Kemira expects the fourth quarter operative EBIT to be between EUR 42-50 million.

Kemira’s President and CEO Wolfgang Büchele:

“With an organic revenue growth of 3% and an improved operative EBIT margin of 8.6% we continued to progress with our operative improvements in the third quarter. It is encouraging, that all of our three core segments achieved an operative EBIT margin close to 9%.

The implementation of our strategy is on track. Sales volumes of Kemira’s two strategically most relevant product lines, polymers and sizing agents, have grown about 10% year-to-date. On October 1, we closed the acquisition of 3F, further strengthening our market position in polymers. Together with 3F’s polymer capacity, Kemira is the second largest dry and emulsion polyacrylamide polymer producer globally.

Of the two growth segments, Paper has continuously been able to accelerate its growth pace. Oil & Mining market conditions have been unfavorable, and the segment has not yet met its growth targets. Municipal & Industrial has successfully disposed some smaller commodity chemicals businesses and has started with the implementation of its new business model, driven by a streamlined organization. The evaluation of exit options for the formic acid business of ChemSolutions is advancing as planned.

I continue to be fully committed as the President and CEO of Kemira until the end of April, 2014. For me, as well as for the entire Kemira organization, the utmost priority is to continue the fast and efficient implementation of the ongoing change initiatives.”

KEY FIGURES AND RATIOS (figures for 2012 were restated on March 25, 2013)

*12-month rolling average (ROCE, % based on the reported EBIT)

Definitions of key figures are available at www.kemira.com > Investors > Financial information. Comparative 2012 figures are provided in parentheses for some financial results, where appropriate. Operating profit, excluding non-recurring items, is referred to as Operative EBIT. Operating profit is referred to as EBIT.

KEMIRA’S FINANCIAL TARGETS, RESTRUCTURING PROGRAM “FIT FOR GROWTH” AND OUTLOOK 2013 (revenue outlook unchanged, operative ebit outlook adjusted)

Kemira will continue to focus on improving its profitability and reinforcing the positive cash flow. The company will also continue to invest in order to secure the future growth in the water quality and quantity management business.

Kemira’s financial targets have been revised in connection with its strategy update on April 23, 2013. The company’s financial targets for 2016 are:

• revenue EUR 2.6 – 2.7 billion
• EBITDA-% of revenue 15%
• gearing level < 60%.

In addition, Kemira expects its medium-term operative tax rate to be in the range of 22%-24%. The operative tax rate excludes non-recurring items and the impact of the income from associated companies.

The basis for growth is the expanding market for chemicals related to water quality and quantity management and Kemira’s strong expertise in this field. The need to increase operational efficiency in our customer industries creates opportunities for Kemira to develop new products and services for both current and new customers. Research and Development is a critical organic growth enabler for Kemira and it provides differentiation capabilities in the water quality and quantity management markets. Kemira will invest in innovation, technical expertise, and competencies in the targeted focus areas.

Restructuring program “Fit for Growth”

Kemira Oyj has continued to implement its global restructuring program “Fit for Growth”, launched at the end of July 2012 in order to improve the company’s profitability, its internal efficiency and to accelerate the growth in emerging markets without sacrificing business opportunities in the mature markets. The cost savings target with the program is EUR 60 million on an annualized basis. In 2012, the cost savings impact of “Fit for Growth” was EUR 10 million.

The anticipated EUR 60 million cost saving impact of the program is expected to be as follows: EUR 10 million in 2012, more than EUR 45 million in 2013 and EUR 60 million in 2014. The ultimate goal of the program is to reach at least 10% EBIT margin in 2014. Headcount reductions will account for 50% of the expected savings. The remaining 50% will be achieved through manufacturing network consolidation as well as through leaner operations. Based on the detailed list of measures, the cost savings estimates for the different segments are as follows: Paper EUR 22 million, Municipal & Industrial EUR 22 million, Oil & Mining EUR 12 million and ChemSolutions EUR 4 million.

Non-recurring charges related to the restructuring program were EUR 76 million, EUR 46 million of which were severance payments and external services related costs and EUR 30 million were the asset write-downs. EUR 71 million of the restructuring charges were booked in 2012 and EUR 5 million in the first half of 2013.

Outlook

Outlook for 2013 revenue remains unchanged. Kemira expects revenue in local currencies, excluding divestments to be slightly higher than in 2012. Outlook for operative EBIT is adjusted. Kemira expects the fourth quarter operative EBIT to be between EUR 42-50 million.

The guidance for 2013 is defined as follows.

Press and analyst conference and conference call

Kemira will arrange a press conference for analysts and the media starting at 3.30 pm (1.30 pm UK time) at Kemira House, Porkkalankatu 3, Helsinki. In the conference, Kemira’s President and CEO Wolfgang Büchele and the CFO Petri Castrén will present the results. The press conference will be held in English and will be webcasted at www.kemira.com/investors. Webcast will be available at www.kemira.com/investors also after the event. Presentation material will be available on Kemira’s website at www.kemira.com/investors under Investors in English and at www.kemira.com/fi/sijoittajat in Finnish at about 3.00 pm.

Conference call in connection to the press and analyst conference

You can also listen to the conference live over the phone and attend the Q&A session via a conference call. In order to participate in the call, please dial +44 (0)207 1620 177 (dial-in from US: +1 334 323 6203, Finland: +358 (0)9 2313 9202), code 937637 ten minutes before the conference begins.

For more information, please contact

Kemira Oyj
Tero Huovinen, VP, Investor Relations
+358 10 862 1980

Kemira is a global chemicals company serving customers in water-intensive industries. We provide expertise and chemicals that improve our customers’ water, energy and raw material efficiency. Our focus is on pulp & paper, oil & gas, mining and water treatment. In 2012, Kemira had annual revenue of EUR 2.2 billion and around 4,900 employees. Kemira shares are listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.
www.kemira.com