Price Development 2007

Effects of the Strategic Realignment on the ALTANA Group

The realignment of the ALTANA Group, which was implemented at the end of 2006 with the sale of the Pharmaceuticals unit, influenced the price of the ALTANA share particularly in the first half of 2007 and led to changes in the shareholder structure.

As the proceeds of € 4.7 billion from the sale were already received on December 31, 2006, they comprised an essential part of the Group’s assets until the dividend distribution. It was only after the dividend was paid out that the company’s value was determined solely by the specialty chemicals activities. The dividend payment thus had a significant effect on the corporate value and the price of the ALTANA share, which from May 4, 2007 was consequently listed at a lower level than before the dividend distribution. In the period from January 1 to May 3, 2007, the average share price was € 47.99, and the average price in the period from May 4 to the end of the year was € 17.33.

In order to enable an appraisal of the share price development in the light of the extraordinarily high dividend payment, we have added in the charts to follow an adjusted value to the prices of the ALTANA share for the period before May 4, 2007. The adjustment comprises the complete dividend sum of € 34.80 per share.

Realignment Has an Impact on the Share Price Development

In 2007, the ALTANA share performed extremely well in a heterogeneous stock market environment. While the most important international benchmark indexes increased considerably in part from the beginning of the year to mid-July, the stock markets were burdened by the effects of the financial crisis originating from the U.S. mortgage market in the second half of the year. Until the end of 2007, there was lateral movement on the most important stock exchanges, with the markets overall being characterized by increased price volatility.

The DAX, the German benchmark index, climbed by 21% in 2007, while the Dow Jones STOXX 50, the index of the largest European values, closed the year down 2%. The second-tier indexes developed considerably more weakly than the benchmark indexes. The MDAX rose by only 4%, while the European Dow Jones STOXX Mid 200 fell by 9% in the course of the year.

The ALTANA share price rose by a total of 35%, an excellent performance in this environment, though the figure was adjusted to accommodate the dividend payment made to the shareholders. The German chemical industry index, Prime Chemicals of the Deutsche Bφrse AG, was up by almost 43% at the end of the year. The comparable European index, the Dow Jones STOXX 600 Chemicals, grew by 24% in 2007.

The ALTANA share started the year on January 2, 2007 at a price of € 47.10 (or € 12.30 on an adjusted basis), and in the weeks to follow until mid-March remained at a stable level between
€ 45.50 and € 48.00 (or € 10.70 and € 13.20). The share price, adjusted for the dividend payment, reached its low for the year at € 10.38. From mid-March the share then rose continuously until the end of April, exceeding € 55.00 (or € 20.20).

In the days prior to the Annual General Meeting, the price fell by more than 15%, closing May 3 at
€ 46.56 (or € 11.76). Most of the shares were sold by investors who – for tax reasons, among other things – preferred taking profits from the price of the share rather than collecting a dividend.

On May 4, the dividend of € 34.80 resolved by the Annual General Meeting was paid out and the ALTANA share was traded for the first time ex-dividend. The share opened the day at € 16.99, 44% higher than the closing price on the previous day when adjusted to accommodate the dividend payment. Both on May 4 and on the following trading day the price continued to rise, and the share closed at € 22.39 on May 7. On the same day the ALTANA share, adjusted for the dividend payment, reached its year high of € 22.70.

In the weeks to follow there was a downward price adjustment to a level of just under € 15.00, achieved in mid-August. Subsequently, the price rallied, reaching its peak at over € 18.00 in mid-November. Thanks in particular to the third quarter report and the resulting more favorable forecast for 2007, the share stood out positively from the generally weak market development at this time. On December 28, the ALTANA share ended the year at € 16.65, corresponding to a market capitalization of € 2.3 billion at year-end.

The volatile price development close to the date that the dividend was distributed was accompanied by very high trading. While the average daily trading (XETRA and Frankfurt Stock Exchange) reached 1.1 to 1.2 million shares in the periods from January to April and June to December 2007, the average daily trading in the month of May was almost ten times as high, with more than 10 million shares traded. In the five trading days from May 3 to May 9 alone, a total of 161.2 million shares were traded. This corresponded to two-and-a-half times the free float and illustrates the technically related share selling in conjunction with the dividend distribution. A total of 483.1 million ALTANA shares were traded on XETRA and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2007.

At year-end, the ALTANA share was ranked second in terms of trading volume and 32nd based on market capitalization in the MDAX ranking list published by Deutsche Bφrse AG.

Further development ALTANA share (adjusted1) and MDAX,
indexed, Jan. 1, 2007 to Dec. 31, 2007¹:


^{1 Until May 3, 2007, the prices of the ALTANA share are adjusted to accommodate the dividend payment of € 34.80 per share.}