{"id":5055,"date":"2025-04-23T09:57:36","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T07:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geschaeftsbericht-2024.pcc.eu\/information-for-our-investorsto-the-investors\/letter-from-the-ceo\/"},"modified":"2025-05-20T14:06:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T12:06:13","slug":"letter-from-the-ceo","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/geschaeftsbericht-2024.pcc.eu\/en\/information-for-our-investors\/letter-from-the-ceo\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter from the CEO"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLadies and Gentlemen,<\/strong>\n

\nThe year 2024 once again posed significant challenges for the global economy, especially for European\nindustries such as the chemical sector. The ongoing war in Ukraine, persistently high labor, energy, and\nraw material costs, extensive regulatory burdens, and strained economic conditions in our markets all\nimpacted our business activities. In addition, we are \u2013 without sufficient protection \u2013 facing increasingly\nunfair and, in some cases, ruinous competition from imports originating from countries like China \u2013\nimports produced under far lower standards for in respect of social responsibility, occupational health\nand safety, human rights, environmental protection, and climate policy. Europe cannot continue to\nallow such imbalances to continue unchecked. It is essential to counter these practices without\ncompromising our own values and standards. The European industry, which in many respects operates\nas a model of responsible conduct, must be protected through well-crafted regulations \u2013 and PCC is actively advocating for such measures at key decision-making levels.\n

\nBecause progress on this front takes time, the PCC Group continued to grapple with difficult external\ninfluences in 2024. Reflecting broader industrial and market trends, the PCC Group posted revenues\nin the fiscal year under review of 960.0 million euros \u2013 slightly below the prior-year figure \u2013 and EBITDA\nof 88.0 million euros.\n

\nThese external pressures prompted us to take further steps to sustainably strengthen the resilience of\nour product portfolio and operations. Our strategy remains focused on innovation, cost efficiency, and\ngrowth in our core markets in Europe (with a strong focus on Poland) and in the United States.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe container terminal\nin Brzeg Dolny operated\nby PCC Intermodal S.A.,\nthe Polish market leader\nin combined road \/ rail transportation.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDriving forward our\nexpansion in the USA, we\nare planning to build\na chlor-alkali production\nfacility at the site of\nour partner Chemours in\nDeLisle, Mississippi.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA key milestone in this effort was the signing in December 2024 of major agreements\nfor our chlor-alkali project in Mississippi, USA, by our local project company. For a\nplanned twenty-year production period, we secured a competitive long-term\nelectricity supply with, and significant sales volumes of our main product, chlorine,\nto our project partner, Chemours. We are also benefiting from state and local tax\nincentives in Mississippi and Harrison County, and have signed a comprehensive\ncontract package with one of the world\u2019s largest engineering firms for the project\u2019s\ndesign and potential execution. This investment would give us access to an attractive\nmarket with a world-scale project that we envision as the nucleus of further expansion\nfor our core business in North America. By securing this production site on the\nUS Gulf Coast and expanding our local sales activities, we are moving closer to our\ngoal of delivering top-quality products and outstanding service to our global business\npartners in the world\u2019s key markets.
<\/br>\n\nOur forward-looking approach is also reflected in the continued high level of capital\nexpenditure in fiscal 2024, which totaled 126.5 million euros. Our leading subsidiaries,\nPCC Rokita SA and PCC Exol SA, played a major role with the expansion of polyol and\nethoxylate production capacities \u2013 enhancing their competitiveness through greater\neconomies of scale. Even before these new facilities go into operation, we are proud\nof the strong performance of these affiliates, whose technical expertise and capacity\nfor innovation continue to deliver added value and strengthen customer loyalty.
<\/br>\n\nOur silicon production facility in Iceland, however, remains heavily impacted by\nadverse market and regulatory forces. In response, we have initiated a comprehensive\nrestructuring program with the support of internal and external specialists. To achieve\nsustained profitability, the market price for silicon must decouple from Chinese\ndumping levels and be realigned with fair pricing in Europe. In 2025, the local Icelandic\nsubsidiary will continue to require financial support from PCC SE to offset projected\nlosses. A temporary shutdown of operations cannot be ruled out, depending on how\nmarket prices develop. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOur new Innovation and\nProcess Scaling Center of the\nPCC Group was co-funded\nby the EU.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u201cFiscal 2024 witnessed the PCC Group consistently pursuing its innovation strategy, focusing on (\u2026) products with ever-broader application potential.\u201d\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDr. Peter Wenzel<\/strong>\n
Chairman of the Executive Board of PCC SE\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOur joint venture with PETRONAS Chemicals Group in Malaysia is also under intense\npressure due to massive low-cost exports from China into Southeast Asia. To address\nthis in a structured and efficient manner, we have implemented a company-wide\nprogram here, too, that includes initiatives to reduce costs and boost sales.
<\/br>\n\nAgainst this backdrop, we are all the more pleased to report on our successful research\nand development efforts, which are key drivers of our future business development.\nFiscal 2024 witnessed the PCC Group consistently pursuing its innovation strategy,\nfocusing on high-performance, sustainable products with ever-broader application\npotential.
<\/br>\n\nIn the polyols and polyurethanes area, we introduced improved polyols as the basis\nfor flexible foams used in viscoelastic, cooling, and ventilated mattresses. These innovations\nare grounded in circular economy principles, incorporating recycled materials \u2013\nsuch as post-consumer polyurethane foams \u2013 and natural raw materials like soybean\nand rapeseed oil.
<\/br>\n\nIn our phosphorus-based specialty chemicals operations, we scaled up production\nof anti-wear additives and developed halogen-free flame retardants. We have also\ntested phosphorus nanoparticles to enhance the performance of lithium-ion batteries,\nand in the production of ultra-pure phosphorus oxychloride for semiconductor\nmanufacturing.
<\/br>\n\nThe PCC Group has also introduced eco-friendly surfactants and biodegradable\nemulsifiers for personal care applications, and in the construction sector we have\ndeveloped new additives for engineered timber products, gypsum boards, asphalt\nmixes and low-emission cements.
<\/br>\n\nThe PCC Group\u2019s new Innovation and Process Scaling Center, co-funded by the EU,\nsupports sustainable innovation and is fully equipped for polymer chemistry\ndevelopment, application testing, and advanced analytics. This strengthens our R&D\nexcellence and accelerates commercialization of new technologies.
<\/br>\n\nIn battery technology, our startup PCC Thorion GmbH \u2013 working with the Fraunhofer\nInstitute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) and other partners \u2013 secured federal German\nfunding to develop a new compound based on nano-silicon powder, aimed at\nenhancing performance and environmental sustainability in lithium-ion batteries. The\nEuropean Commission recognized this initiative as one of 47 strategic raw materials\nprojects under the Critical Raw Materials Act. PCC Thorion has established its own\nresearch laboratory in Oberhausen, Germany, to drive progress in this field and is\ncurrently raising external capital to scale its operations.
<\/br>\n\nPCC Intermodal S.A. achieved excellent results again in 2024 with its environmentally\nfriendly combined road and rail container transportation services. The logistics segment\nas a whole increased its EBITDA by 35.1 percent. We expanded our services to include\nfull container block trains between Gliwice, Poland, and Padua, northern Italy, and are\ndeveloping a new terminal south of the seaports of Gdynia and Gda\u0144sk. A particular\nhighlight in 2024 was achieving market leadership in intermodal transport in Poland,\nwith a 19.6 percent share of freight revenue.
<\/br>\n\nAt the heart of our company are our employees. Their dedication underpins the\ncontinued success of our business. We are proud of our highly motivated and skilled\nteam, whose members give their best each and every day. Retaining PCC\u2019s people\nlong-term, motivating them, and providing opportunities for personal development\nremain core priorities.
<\/br>\n\nContinuity is also essential at the leadership level. On July 1, 2024, our long-serving\nand experienced CFO, Riccardo Koppe, was appointed to the Executive Board of\nPCC SE. At the same time, Ulrike Warnecke transitioned from the Executive Board to our\nSupervisory Board, where she brings the full weight of her experience and expertise\ngained since PCC was first established. These leadership changes mark an important\nstep in the ongoing development of our company and the unique spirit that defines us.
<\/br>\n\nAt PCC, we believe it is our responsibility to seize the opportunities that arise in our\nbusiness \u2013 agilely and creatively \u2013 while adhering to conservative risk management,\nresource-efficient technologies, and trustworthy, faithful collaboration with all our\nstakeholders. So I would like, on behalf of the entire Executive Board of PCC SE, to\nthank you, our highly valued investors and business partners, for the trust and loyalty\nyou have placed in us, and to express my heart-felt gratitude to all our employees\nfor their extraordinary commitment to the common cause at PCC. I very much look\nforward to our continued shared successes. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSincerely,

Peter Wenzel<\/strong>
Chairman of the Executive Board of PCC SE\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ladies and Gentlemen, The year 2024 once again posed significant challenges for the global economy, especially for European industries such as the chemical sector. The ongoing war in Ukraine, persistently high labor, energy, and raw material costs, extensive regulatory burdens, and strained economic conditions in our markets all impacted our business activities. In addition, we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5021,"parent":5053,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5055","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/geschaeftsbericht-2024.pcc.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/geschaeftsbericht-2024.pcc.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/geschaeftsbericht-2024.pcc.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geschaeftsbericht-2024.pcc.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geschaeftsbericht-2024.pcc.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5055"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/geschaeftsbericht-2024.pcc.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5055\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5628,"href":"https:\/\/geschaeftsbericht-2024.pcc.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5055\/revisions\/5628"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geschaeftsbericht-2024.pcc.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5053"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geschaeftsbericht-2024.pcc.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/geschaeftsbericht-2024.pcc.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}