MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - Wacker Chemie earned significantly less in the second quarter, also below the line. Compared to the same period last year, net income slumped by almost 70 percent to 119 million euros, as the chemical group announced on Thursday when presenting final results. The MDax-listed company had already reported a significant decline in sales and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) in mid-July, when it lowered its outlook for the year.

The key figures have now been confirmed. Accordingly, the Group generated sales of 1.75 billion euros in the second quarter, compared with almost 2.2 billion a year earlier. Operating profit (Ebitda) slumped by almost 60 percent to 255.5 million euros.

For the full year, the Management Board expects sales of 6.5 to 6.8 billion euros. Operating profit is expected to be between 0.8 and 1 billion euros. Previously, the Group's management had forecast 1.1 to 1.4 billion.

"The main reasons for our reduced expectations are the continuing weak demand from customers in numerous user industries, ongoing destocking on the customer side, and lower prices for many of our products compared with the previous year," explained company CEO Christian Hartel in mid-July. The hoped-for recovery in demand has not yet been seen. Instead, the weakness in demand will continue in the second half of the year.

The chemical industry has been suffering massively from a reduction in inventories by customers since the fall of 2022. On top of this, consumers are less inclined to spend in the gloomy economic environment, which is weighing on demand and prices.

This is making itself felt in the silicones business - these plastics are used primarily in the electronics industry, by textile manufacturers, medical technology companies and in the construction sector. The construction industry, an important sales market for Wacker's polymers, is also feeling the impact of reduced construction activity due to high interest rates. Polymers are a wide variety of chemical compounds; they are the basis for adhesives, for example, but are also added to flooring, paints and concrete to change properties.

In Wacker's Silicones division, operating profit slumped in the second quarter. In the Polymers division, Ebitda fell by 16 percent to 76 million euros. The polysilicon business for semiconductor applications also remained under pressure./mis/nas