Group Management Report Corporate Governance Environment, Safety, and Corporate Social Responsibility Consolidated Financial Statements 43 oil and gas exploration did not meet expectations either. Due to the ongoing decline in crude-oil prices, exploration activities were curbed, particularly in the U.S. In total, the Group’s sales volumes were below the previous year’s level. The effects of price changes and product mix shifts had a slightly positive impact on Group sales. But these influences developed unevenly within the Group. The regional volume and sales structure shifted slightly on account of currency impacts. Accounting for 39 % of total Group sales (previous year: 41 %), Europe continued to be ALTANA’s most important sales market. Both nominal and operating sales were roughly at the previous year’s level. The sales generated in our home market Germany could not match the previous year’s figure. But this decline was offset by increases in other Business Performance Key figures 2014 2015 Δ % Δ % op.¹ in € million Sales 1,952.3 2,059.3 5 - 2 Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) 397.4 390.9 - 2 - 4 EBITDA margin 20.4 % 19.0 % Operating income (EBIT) 267.7 251.3 - 6 EBIT margin 13.7 % 12.2 % Earnings before taxes (EBT) 251.8 227.8 - 10 EBT margin 12.9 % 11.1 % Net income (EAT) 179.2 158.0 - 12 EAT margin 9.2 % 7.7 % ¹ Operating deviation, i. e. adjusted for acquisition and divestment as well as exchange-rate effects. This adjustment also applies to other sections of this management report. Group Sales Performance Group sales amounted to € 2,059.3 million in 2015, a 5 % or € 107.0 million increase over the previous year (€ 1,952.3 million). Non-operating positive effects had a significant influence on the growth. Exchange-rate changes, particularly the Euro - U.S. Dollar and Euro - Chinese Renminbi exchange rates, accounted for sales growth of 7 %. Furthermore, the integration of the Brazilian companies, acquired at the end of 2014, into the ACTEGA division boosted Group sales by € 24.1 million. Adjusted for these acquisition and exchange rate effects, Group sales were 2 % lower than in the previous year. As a result, we did not achieve the operating sales growth of 2 to 5 % that we had anticipated for 2015 at the beginning of the year. One main reason ALTANA fell short of the forecast was the slower growth in China. In nearly all of our divisions, operating sales in China lagged significantly behind those of the previous year. And sales in the area of Sales by division 1 4 2 3 17.0 % 22.5 % 42.2 % 18.3 % in € million 2014 2015 Δ % Δ % op. 1 BYK Additives & Instruments 856.7 870.0 2 - 4 2 ECKART Effect Pigments 332.2 349.7 5 0 3 ELANTAS Electrical Insulation 431.2 463.2 7 - 3 4 ACTEGA Coatings & Sealants 332.1 376.4 13 0 Total 1,952.3 2,059.3 5 - 2
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