Umicore says that its 2020 revenues grew by 3% to €3.4 billion, with recurring EBITDA increased 5% to €753 million and recurring EBIT was €509 million. Revenues and recurring EBIT in the second half posted strong sequential growth and were up 6% and 12% respectively, the company said.
According to the company, the performance of its Energy and Surface Technologies businesses was well below the record levels of last year, due to a temporary market slowdown, particularly in the electrical vehicle (EV) segment in China, as well as the impact from a depressed cobalt price and the inflow of cheaper cobalt units unethically sourced from artisanal mining.
A strong performance and year-on-year growth in Recycling were driven by higher metal prices and a favorable supply environment, Umicore said.
‘Umicore expects to grow revenues and earnings in 2020 despite a deterioration in the global macro-economic environment since then, particularly in the automotive sector,’ said a company in a press release. ‘This growth outlook assumes that the recent coronavirus outbreak will not result in a protracted or material effect on the economy in 2020.
[…] Despite the expectation of subdued EV sales in China, Energy and Surface Technologies anticipates benefitting from higher sales of cathode materials for EVs in 2020, as well as the consolidation of the recently acquired activities in Kokkola, Finland.’
‘I am proud of our performance in 2019 and pleased to confirm the growth outlook for 2020 despite the adverse market trends that developed in the course of 2019,’ said Marc Grynberg, CEO.
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.