Dec. 01, 2018 - Nabaltec AG's stable revenue growth continued in the third quarter of 2018. In the first nine months of the year, the company posted revenues of EUR 135.3 million, compared to EUR 130.5 million in the same period of last year. Operating profit (EBIT) amounted to EUR 14.0 million in the first nine months of the year, down slightly from the value posted in the same period last year, EUR 14.7 million. EBIT margin (EBIT as a percentage of total performance) was 10.4%. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) reached a value of EUR 23.0 million, compared to EUR 23.4 million in the first nine months of 2017.

"On the whole, we are satisfied with our results in the third quarter and in the first nine months of the year," said Johannes Heckmann, CEO of Nabaltec AG. "As we expected, and as we have been reporting for a long time, implementation of the stand-alone solution for our subsidiary Nashtec has had the effect of weighing down earnings. We have been able to mitigate this effect to a certain extent at the Group level and largely compensate for it through an improved product mix and appropriate price adjustments. Accordingly, we continue to expect revenue growth in the mid-single digits for 2018 as a whole, with an EBIT margin in the high single digits."

Revenues in the third quarter of 2018 amounted to EUR 43.5 million, up 4.1% from the third quarter of 2017, when revenues were EUR 41.8 million. Revenues in the "Functional Fillers" product segment came to EUR 27.9 million in the third quarter of 2018, up slightly (+2.6%) from the same period of last year (EUR 27.2 million). Revenues in the "Specialty Alumina" product segment were up 6.8% in the third quarter, to EUR 15.6 million, up from EUR 14.6 million in the same period of last year. This growth is largely attributable to the effects of an improved product mix, as well as price adjustments.

The dynamic growth in boehmite sales has been an especially positive development. In light of the growing importance of the boehmite business, Nabaltec AG formed a trading company in October 2018 based in Shanghai. This company will focus on supplying the Chinese market for lithium ion batteries, in which Nabaltec's boehmite is used in separator films. The increased proximity to customers which will be created by this move is expected to provide an additional boost in the Chinese market, the world's largest market for lithium ion batteries.