DGAP-News: AlzChem Group AG: AlzChem with first quarter earnings growth of 12.3%; forecast for 2018 confirmed

• Sales rose 3.7% to from the previous year to EUR 94.5 million
• EBITDA of EUR 15 million around 12% higher than the last year; EBITDA margin at approx. 16%
• Ground broken on new CreAMINO(R)^[1] production plant in Trostberg in March 2018
• Forecast confirmed for 2018 as a whole

Trostberg, May 15, 2018 - AlzChem Group AG (WKN: A0AHT4), a vertically integrated specialty chemicals supplier with a leading market position in selected niche markets, achieved significant year-on-year sales and earnings growth in the first quarter of 2018. Sales increased by 3.7% to EUR 94.5 million, earnings before in-terest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose by 12.3% to EUR 15.1 million. The AlzChem Group was also able to increase its profitability: the EBITDA margin increased by 1.2 per-centage points year-on-year to 15.9%.

The Specialty Chemicals segment in particular contributed to the positive sales development, with growth more than compensating for the slight decline in sales in the other segments. AlzChem also benefited from market growth in Europe and Asia. As in the previous year, demand continued to grow at a very high level.

Ulli Seibel, CEO of AlzChem, comments: "We are extremely satisfied with the development in the first quarter and are confident about the course of business for the rest of the fiscal year. All product groups in our Specialty Chemicals segment contributed to this positive result. We were right on schedule with the groundbreaking ceremony for the new CreAMINO(R) production plant and current construction in Trostberg is progressing as planned. We are also on track in our Basics & Intermedi-ates segment with plans to expand our nitrile plants. The groundbreaking ceremony for this will take place in the summer of this year. We believe we are well positioned across all segments to continue growing in the future."

Based on the company's performance in the first quarter of 2018 and the general market situation, AlzChem can confirm its forecast for 2018 and continues to expect sales growth in the mid single-digit percentage range as well as a EBITDA of EUR 49 to 54 million.

Segment performance in the first quarter of 2018 

About AlzChem Group AG
AlzChem Group AG is a vertically integrated manufacturer of various chemical products based on the NCN chain. These are products with typical nitrogen-carbon-nitrogen bonding that are used in a wide variety of different industries. The company has a leading position in select niche markets, including the markets for feed additives and food supplements. The strategic focus of growth and the main focus of its extensive research and development are on the business segment Specialty Chemicals. The company has around 1,500 employees at four sites in Germany and three other sites abroad.^[1] CreAMINO(R) is a brand of Evonik Industries AG.