With its companies combined in EMS-CHEMIE HOLDING AG and activities in the fields of Performance Polymers, Fine Chemicals and Engineering, the EMS Group reports consistently good income for the first six months of the current year, to no small extent thanks to the measures initiated more than one year previously in response to an anticipated worsening of the economic climate. In the first semester of 2001 the EMS Group thus boosted net sales revenues by 11.8% to CHF 644 million (576), operating income (EBIT) by 4.0% to CHF 105 million (101) and net profit by 18.3% to CHF 123 million (104), whereby net sales revenues and operating income (EBIT) would have risen by 4.0% and 0.9% respectively within the previous year's consolidation scope.
The scope of consolidation experienced some change in the course of the financial year: in February 2001 EMS acquired the WAGNER Automobilsysteme company, and EMS-UBE Ltd. (Japan), a company producing an important raw material exclusively for EMS and UBE, has been reconsolidated. In February 2001 EMS increased its existing minority interest to 66 2/3 %. As EMS-UBE sells the raw material to its partners at full cost, this consolidation measure has generated higher sales but only an insignificant rise in profits.
Acquired in March 2001, the AXANTIS group is currently undergoing readjustment and integration into EMS-CHEMIE HOLDING. Statutory waiting periods dictate that this process will not be completed until November 2001; this group has hence yet to be consolidated. AXANTIS was acquired with a view to new products that will not have an impact on income until three years from now at the earliest. If consolidation were effected today, no profit dilution would result.
In particular as a consequence of the reconsolidation of raw material company EMS-UBE Ltd. (Japan), the operating income margin inevitably decl ined from 17.6% to 16.3%. Due to the less advantageous economic situation, and with a comparable scope of consolidation, this margin is slightly lower (from 17.6% to 17.1%).