Umicore says that its revenues for 2020 were €3.2 billion, a decrease of 4% compared to the previous year.
Catalysis revenues also decreased, while Energy & Surface Technologies revenues reflected the impact of the pandemic as well as lower sales of cathode materials for high-end portable electronics and energy storage applications, according to the company.
However, recycling doubled its adjusted EBIT compared to the previous year, due to ‘strong growth across business units, reflecting high metal prices, high activity levels despite the COVID-19 crisis and favorable trading conditions’, Umicore said.
‘Despite the significant challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the long-term drivers that support Umicore’s growth strategy remain intact,’ a press release said. ‘The push towards clean mobility is stronger than ever, with various governments including green recovery measures and stimuli for cleaner mobility in their crisis recovery packages, in particular in Europe and China. […] In addition, Umicore is moving ahead with its growth plans in fuel cells for automotive applications as well as the expansion in its light-duty and heavy-duty catalyst production in China in order to cater for the growing demand for its technologies as emission norms continue to strengthen.
‘The global economy is showing signs of recovery from the severe downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of 2020. However, a high degree of uncertainty remains with respect to the evolution of the pandemic and the pace and speed of the recovery in different regions.’
This story uses material from Umicore, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
