(News Bulletin 247) – Solvay lost ground Thursday in early trading despite fourth quarter results that came out above market expectations.

The chemical group indicates that its net turnover increased by 15.2% in organic data over the last three months of the year, to nearly 3.3 billion euros.

In its press release, the company explains that the increase in its prices more than compensated for the drop in its volumes and the impact of inflation on its costs.

Also driven by a price effect, fourth-quarter EBITDA rose 18.7% organically, to 736 million euros, while analysts were aiming for around 700 million.

Underlying net profit was 1.7 billion euros, up 67.6% year-on-year.

Based on these performances, the group has planned to distribute to its shareholders a total dividend of 4.05 euros per share, up by 0.20 euros compared to 2021.

However, the title seemed penalized by forecasts deemed too optimistic given the uncertainty of the current economic environment.

Solvay said it expects its underlying EBITDA, at constant scope and exchange rates, to fall between 3% and 9% this year compared to 2022.

According to analysts, this corresponds to a target of 2.8 to three billion euros, while the consensus today is more pessimistic, posting a forecast of around 2.6 billion.

Following these announcements, the Solvay share fell by 2.9% on Thursday in the first exchanges, signing the largest drop in the BEL 20 index.

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