sales in the division’s total sales increased to 39 %. The U.S. remains ACTEGA’s most important sales market. In Europe, sales were roughly the same as in the previous year. Lower sales in Germany were counterbalanced by growth in other European countries. ACTEGA increased its sales in Asia in 2015. In comparison with the regional structure of Group sales, the region’s share in the division’s total sales – around 10 % – remained at a below-average level. Earnings Situation Like the key sales figures, the development of the most im- portant earnings indicators was influenced significantly by exchange-rate effects. But this positive influence could not completely offset the negative effects on earnings that resulted from decreasing operational sales. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell by 2 % to € 390.9 million (previous year: € 397.4 million). Adjusted for acquisition and exchange-rate effects, operating sales fell by 4 %. ALTANA achieved an EBITDA margin of 19.0 % in the 2015 fiscal year (previous year: 20.4 %). Both the development of the absolute EBITDA and the EBITDA margin lagged behind our expectations. At the beginning of 2015, we had expected earnings growth to be at the level of sales growth and thus profitability to be around 20 %. The negative deviation from the forecast is due on the one hand to the fact that the positive exchange-rate effects were reflected less in earnings than in sales. The sales revenue achieved, particularly from the exchange rate between the Euro and the U.S. Dollar, and the Euro and the Chinese Renminbi, comprise a higher share of our total sales than the share of earnings generated in these currencies. On the other hand, restructuring measures and general increases in personnel expenses gave rise to a disproportionately high increase in operating costs. The most important cost factor for ALTANA, raw materials and packaging costs, developed well relative to sales. The materials usage ratio, the ratio of raw mate- rials and packaging costs to sales, decreased in the course of 2015 to 42.0 %. This trend is driven by nearly all of our divisions and is due, among other things, to the backwards integration of certain production materials that has been continually pushed forward in recent years, as well as to increasing specialization on products and markets with higher added value. Another reason is that in the last fiscal year prices on all of the important raw-materials markets developed advantageously for ALTANA. Other cost factors important for ALTANA, however, increased disproportionately to sales growth. Personnel expenses were higher due to the wage adjustments that were resolved, to the acquisitions made in 2014 in Brazil, and to the expansion of our workforce. The ratio of per- sonnel expenses to sales climbed to 22.0 %, including restructuring expenditure at sites in Germany. In addition, due to impairment losses on intangible assets and property, plant and equipment, depreciation and amortization increased by € 11.5 million. The structure of functional costs did not change significantly in 2015. Production costs generally increased, above all due to currency impacts and the integration of the companies acquired in Brazil. In addition to the general increase in personnel expenses, which is also reflected by the increase in production-related personnel expenses, depre- ciation and amortization climbed disproportionately as a result of the expansion of production capacities in the BYK division. In the 2015 fiscal year, the increase in selling and distribution expenses was disproportionately lower compared to sales. At the same time, the costs that depend directly 46 Business Development
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