MALMÖ, Sweden – Specialty chemicals provider Perstorp has published its annual report for the year ended December 2018. The company reported net sales of SEK 14,882 million, an increase of 9% compared to the same period last year. EBITDA excluding non-recurring items, amounted to a record high of SEK 2,324 million (2,133), corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 15.6% (15,7%).

In 2018 and in the beginning of 2019, the company undertook several transformational initiatives to become fit and more agile for the future, including the Care 365 program, which helped the company see a decrease in OSHA-recordable accidents and improved employee satisfaction. Another initiative was the transfer of the company into a new investment fund that has committed €130 million for M&A and CAPEX activities to further advance growth.

Perstorp re-positioned its portfolio of products after divesting Perstorp BioProducts and the Capa™ business to focus on driving future growth from the company’s three core business areas; Specialty Polyols & Solutions, Advanced Chemicals and Animal Nutrition.

In 2019, Perstorp introduced a new operational model and a new organization structure with the main objective to better address customer demands for supply reliability and focused innovation, creating a more lean and efficient company. Perstorp also entered into a new financing agreement in 2019 that will strengthen its balance sheet and further enhance its ability to generate free cash flow in line with its strategic objectives.

Jan Secher, President and CEO of Perstorp, commented, “Continuous profitable growth is our headline moving forward, we have set ambitious and challenging goals for ourselves including outgrowing the market and reaching a new sustainable earnings level after the divestments of Perstorp Bioproducts and Capa. Yet beyond hard numbers, we have set clear targets for further developing our leadership and how to lead change. It boils down to this: we are building one strong culture comprising both the hard financial performance and the softer value that fuels growth. This symbiosis between performance and care is the magic formula for Perstorp.”