(AOF) – Berkem, a benchmark player in plant chemistry, has unveiled its results for the first half of 2022, showing a growth in turnover of 11.5% to 28.1 million euros. , as well as a sustained increase in the order book. The group’s net income increased by 37.2% to 1.9 million euros over the period. As of June 30, 2022, the company had net cash of €12.7 million.
Olivier Fahy, Chairman and CEO of the Berkem group, said: “The results we generated over the period demonstrate the full resilience of our model, based on healthy organic growth and positioning in niche markets with high added value.
And to continue: “Despite a declining Ebitda, mainly due to the price inflation we are facing on all of our raw materials, we made the choice very early on to apply price increases to our products that should eventually neutralize this effect.”
In terms of outlook, the group reiterates its ambition to achieve a turnover of at least 65 million euros by 2024, which can be increased to at least 85 million euros in the event of external growth operations. At the same time, the group’s objective is to achieve an EBITDA margin of around 25%.
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A second part of the year at risk
Chemical players should be faced with a scissors effect. First, they have to face an explosion of costs: experts estimate that in 2022 natural gas prices should increase by 470% and electricity prices by around 300% following the war in Ukraine. Added to this is an oil price that is also on the rise. On the other hand, their ability to increase prices should be penalized by a less dynamic economic context, linked in particular to the difficulties on the Chinese market, weighed down by a wave of confinements. The world leader, BASF, anticipates a decline of between 6% and 14% in its profits in 2022.