Catalysts

• Sales increase of 6% to €6,658 million largely driven by higher prices
• Considerable improvement in EBIT before special items, mainly from volumes growth

Sales to third parties in the Catalysts division rose by €395 million to €6,658 million in 2017. This was primarily due to higher sales prices on the back of an increase in precious metal prices and increased volumes of mobile emissions catalysts. Currency effects and the divestiture of the polyolefin catalysts business in June 2016 had a negative impact on sales.

We increased sales volumes for battery materials and chemical catalysts, while volumes declined in the refining catalysts business. In precious metal trading, sales rose by €182 million to €2,518 million. Higher prices more than offset the decline in volumes.

Catalysts – Factors influencing sales

Catalysts – Sales by region
(Location of customer)

We considerably increased EBIT before special items year-on-year, mainly thanks to higher sales volumes.