Group Management Report Products Safety and Health Environment Human Resources Social Commitment Consolidated Financial Statements 49
the product mix. The same applies to significant changes in
other cost components that have a strong influence on
the price of products. This price sensitivity of the markets is
also reflected in short-term changes in demand, when for
example stronger price fluctuations are expected for significant
raw-materials markets.
The competitive situation in the different product-specific
market segments can have similar effects on customer
behavior. The entry of new manufacturers into a market or
the withdrawal of existing manufacturers from a market
and the competitors’ prices can impact demand.
Long-term changes in demand for the Group’s products
and services are brought about on the one hand by global
megatrends and the economic growth of certain regions. On
the other hand, product and technological developments
continually open up new sales potential or lead to product
segments being discontinued.
In the course of a year, seasonal fluctuations in demand
result from lower customer activity, for example during
the Chinese New Year Festival, during the summer holiday
season, and at the end of the year.
Strategy and Control System
Strategy
Current market requirements, and market demands expected
for the future, determine the ALTANA Group’s corporate
action. The success of our customers is at the center of our
business activities. We can only be successful in the competitive
environment in the long run if we offer our customers
added value.
Our top financial priority is to sustainably increase the
company’s value. To achieve this aim, we consistently gear
ALTANA to profitable growth in future-oriented specialty
chemicals markets.
At ALTANA, profitable growth is based on several pillars.
The primary ones are to expand our operating activities in
existing markets and to open up new adjacent sales segments.
ALTANA’s four divisions occupy significant competitive
positions in their respective sales markets. This position-
ing is an important prerequisite for our being identified and
acknowledged by market participants as a competent sup-
plier of customized solutions. In addition to ALTANA’s comprehensive
product portfolio, innovation plays a key role in
its high level of problem-solving expertise.
To enable customers to create new applications and
strengthen their portfolio, ALTANA continually pushes forward
its own research and development activities. To this
end, our employees’ knowhow and experience are just as important
as investments in new technologies.
To continually expand our specialized portfolio, we
regularly supplement our operating growth by acquiring new
companies or business activities. As a result, for example,
new value creation steps are integrated into the Group, or
access to new markets and technologies is granted.
Control System and Goals
ALTANA’s control system is fundamentally oriented to the
goal of a sustainable increase in the company’s value. A number
of ratios, mainly financial, are derived whose developments
are analyzed and for which target values are determined.
The most important key performance indicators
are ALTANA Value Added (AVA), sales growth, earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), as
well as the EBITDA margin and the investment level in relation
to sales.
A change in the company’s value in a given period is
calculated by using the financial ratio ALTANA Value Added.
The absolute AVA is calculated by subtracting the cost of
capital employed in the Group from the operating earnings.
The relative AVA constitutes this difference in proportion