ZURICH: Switzerland Clariant will carefully look at potential acquisitions in the US to continue expanding if it finds “interesting and fair” priced targets, the CEO of the Swiss chemical company said.
The company purchased two oil and gas services firms last year for Swiss francs (Swfr) 350m ($350m).
Hariolf Kottmann said the expansions in North America would take place in the Natural Resources division and Catalysis, as the industries for Care Chemicals and Plastics & Coatings, Clariant’s other divisions, are already too consolidated and it would prove difficult to make a difference, he said.
Clariant only disclosed the price it had paid for the two oil services firms in the US.
The Swiss company published earlier in the day its fourth-quarter and annual results, which showed revenue for 2016 up by 1% to Swfr5.85bn and EBITDA before exceptionals at Swfr887m, up 4%.
Earlier this week, the largest chemical trade group in Europe, Germany’s VCI, also said the idea considered by the Trump administration to impose a “border tax” for imports into the country was the “wrong course” to take in transatlantic trade.
As per Clariant’s operations in Europe, Asia and Latin America, the picture was mixed. Brazil is proving a challenging market over the last two years, both for Care Chemicals and Natural Resources, the two sectors in which the company is strong in the country, and sales in 2016 in the country declined by 11%, said Jany.
Regard per the rumoured possibility of divestment of the Plastics & Coatings division, which accounted for 43% of total company sales in 2016, management is having none of it.
“When we carved out the divisions we also said nothing will happen within next three to five years,” said Kottmann.
The move to make the divisions into standalone legal entities has been interpreted by analysts as a potential move towards divestment.
