Chemicals group Lanxess eyes higher 2022 profits despite rising costs

(Reuters) - German speciality chemicals maker Lanxess said on Friday it expected its core profit to rise significantly this year after its 2021 earnings met market expectations as it passed on rising costs to customers.

Lanxess reported adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 1.01 billion euros ($1.11 billion) for the full year, in line with its own forecast and a company-provided poll.

"We promised that 2021 would be a year of growth - and we delivered this against all the odds. We largely passed on the extreme cost increases to the market," Chief Executive Officer Matthias Zachert said in a statement.

Zachert added he expected energy and raw material prices to continue to rise in the first half of 2022 and global supply chains to remain fragile.

Lanxess, which makes a fifth of its sales from the auto industry, has so far managed to compensate the sharp rise in raw material prices by adjusting selling prices amid global materials shortages.

The Cologne-based company said it expected its first-quarter core profit to come in a range of 280 million to 320 million euros, compared with 242 million it reported last year.

Lanxess proposed a dividend of 1.05 euros per share for the fiscal year, a 5% increase from 2020.

($1 = 0.9092 euros)

(Reporting by David Latona and Bartosz Dabrowski in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi)