Group Management Report Products Safety and Health Environment Human Resources Social Commitment Consolidated Financial Statements 77
acquisitions already made in 2021 and potential further acquisitions
may also have a significant influence on the
growth rate. In February 2021, the activities of TLS Technik
GmbH & Co. Spezialpulver KG were integrated into the
Group within the ECKART division. In addition, the ACTEGA
division has included the closure materials business acquired
from Henkel since May 2021. In operational terms, the divisions’
sales should develop within the same growth range
as Group sales.
We assume that there will be no significant shifts in cost
ratios in relation to sales for the main functional cost variables.
We forecast only a slight decrease in the cost of materials
ratio compared to the past fiscal year, which will remain
at a high level.
In the case of human resources costs and certain other
cost items, we are planning a relative increase for 2022
that will be higher overall than the level of sales growth. The
main reasons for this are the planned increase in personnel
and the expectation that trade show and travel activities will
pick up again in 2022.
The EBITDA margin in 2022 is expected to be roughly
at the level of the previous year. It should be at the lower
end of our strategic target range of 18 % to 20 %. A slight
increase is anticipated for absolute EBITDA.
After 2022, we expect continued high growth momentum
with fundamentally increasing profitability.
Expected Asset and Financial Situation
Overall, there should be no significant shifts in the balance
sheet structure in 2022. The level of our investments in
property, plant and equipment and intangible assets should
remain within our long-term target range of 5 % to 6 %
of sales over the next two years. The absolute values of net
working capital are expected to develop in line with the
general business performance, with the relative level lower
compared to the end of 2021.
Based on the expected business development, we will continue
to generate a clearly positive cash flow from operating
activities in the coming years, which should be higher than
in the previous year. We will use the cash inflow primarily to
finance investments and further acquisitions beneficial
to the development of the ALTANA Group.
For the key figures of value management, we expect
only a slight decline compared to the past business year.
This will mainly result from an increase in operating capital
due to the expected investments and the acquisitions
already completed in 2021. For the relative and absolute
ALTANA value added, we expect an amount significantly
above the threshold for value creation, as the return on capital
employed for 2022 should exceed the cost of capital
at 7.5 %.
Expected Development in the Area of Occupational
Safety and the Environment
Based on the long-term positive development of the past
fiscal years in the area of occupational safety, we set ourselves
the following targets for 2022 for the three accident
indicators: WAI 1: 2.3; WAI 2: 1.5; and WAI 3: 28.0.
The target for the specific energy parameter in 2022 is
1.21 MWh / t, following an actual value at the same level
in the previous fiscal year. In subsequent years, further reductions
in specific energy consumption in the order of 2 %
per year are sought.
Risks
Management and control of the ALTANA Group are geared
to the strategy that has been defined and the target levels
derived from it. Due to changes in the economic environment
or internal and external factors of influence, it might not be
possible to implement the strategy successfully or to achieve