Corporate Report 2025: Letter from the Management Board | About This Report | Sustainability Management | Corporate Bodies and Management | Report of the Supervisory Board | #DiscoverGoodChemistry | Group Management Report | Products | Safety and Health | Environment | People | Social Commitment | Consolidated Financial Statements (condensed version) | Multi-Year Overview | Global Compact: Communication on Progress (COP) | ALTANA worldwide | List of Shareholdings | Contact
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Overall, 2025 was a successful year for the ALTANA Group. Despite continuing challenging market conditions, we were able to slightly increase sales and earnings on an operational basis compared with the strong figures of the previous year and achieve growth in key areas. Although we did not fully reach our targets this year, we succeeded in staying on track and continuing to invest in the future.
Our strengths make this combination of stability and progress possible. Our proximity to customers, our regional and decentralized structure, and our innovative prowess and financial strength provide the foundation for actively shaping the future. This was particularly evident again in 2025.
We once again made substantial investments in research and development. At 7 percent of sales, our spending in this area remains well above the industry average. In addition, in 2025, one in six employees worked in research and development. This enables us to remain close to our customers worldwide and collaborate with them to develop solutions to current and future challenges.
To ensure that we remain present where our customers are and where the greatest growth opportunities lie, we continuously invest in our decentralized site network. Last year, we continued to advance expansion projects in Europe, the Americas, and Asia. For example, preparations for a cross-divisional site in India and a new research building for our BYK division at our home location in Wesel gained further momentum in 2025. In Kings Mountain, North Carolina, our ACTEGA division opened a new, state-of-the-art production facility for printing inks and coatings. These and other projects create space for future innovation, collaboration, and growth. Importantly, this global and regional presence also increases our geographic independence and reduces risks related to supply chains and customs duties.
Sustainability is not only a focus in our laboratories; it is part of our corporate identity in line with the UN Global Compact initiative for responsible and sustainable corporate management. Sustainability is also one of the most important growth drivers for the ALTANA Group. Here, too, our long-term strategy is increasingly bearing fruit. For many years, our teams have been working on how to make our own products and, by extension, those of our customers more resource- and climate-friendly. One example is the pigments for UV-curable printing inks produced by our ECKART division. They make packaging printing more efficient and sustainable, a solution that we honored with the ALTANA Innovation Award in 2025.
Renowned external organizations also confirmed in the past year that sustainability at ALTANA is more than just a buzzword, but delivers tangible impact. In the summer, the rating agency EcoVadis awarded the ALTANA Group its Platinum Medal, placing us among the top 1 percent of all companies evaluated worldwide. Another important milestone came in December of the reporting year: the European Investment Bank (EIB) granted us a new credit line of up to 300 million euros for support further sustainable research and development projects over the coming years.
In 2025, we once again demonstrated that stability enables progress through the integration of our most recently acquired companies. The incorporation of the Von Roll Group into our ELANTAS division and of the Silberline units into ECKART is nearly complete. We successfully integrated these activities into our core business, strengthening both divisions for future growth. At the same time, we were able to find suitable new owners for units that did not align optimally with our portfolio.
For ALTANA, acting with foresight also means continuously questioning ourselves, our strategies, and our structures. This enables us to make the right decisions at the right time and with due care, a quality that also makes us strong.
Above all, what makes ALTANA strong are the people who work here. It is their commitment, expertise, and collaboration that make the difference. They contribute their individual strengths so that together we remain a company that provides stability and, precisely because of this, enables progress.
Colleagues from different divisions and countries within the ALTANA Group share what makes this company so special in the magazine section of this report. Under the motto #DiscoverGoodChemistry, we invite you to get to know ALTANA and the people who work here better.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to our employees for their extraordinary dedication and personal contributions in 2025. We also extend our gratitude to our customers, business partners, and the members of the Supervisory Board for their constructive support and trust in ALTANA’s work.
Martin Babilas
Dr. Tammo Boinowitz
Stefan Genten