Duisburg, May 21, 2026. The Duisburg-based PCC Group achieved stable earnings in the first quarter despite lower revenue. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) declined only slightly, by 2.9%, to €13.0 million compared with the same quarter of the previous year, while revenue fell by 12.0% to €221.0 million.
While the Trade & Services segment posted an increase in revenue, the Polyols, Chlorine, and Silicon segments in particular saw declines in revenue. This is primarily due to lower price levels compared to the same quarter of the previous year. In addition, at that time we were still operating the silicon metal plant in Iceland, which had been temporarily shut down since the summer of 2025. In terms of EBITDA, the declines in the Surfactants and Chlorine segments were partially offset by improved earnings in the Trading & Services segment and a smaller loss in the Silicon & Derivatives segment.
In terms of operating income (EBIT, earnings before interest and taxes), the PCC Group posted a loss of -7.8 million € in the first quarter, virtually unchanged from the same quarter of the previous year (-7.9 million €). Earnings before taxes (EBT) improved by 52.1% to -15.5 million €, primarily due to a positive contribution from exchange rate changes, which was 16.7 million € higher than in the prior year.
“Overall, following a rather subdued start to the new 2026 fiscal year, the PCC Group has seen a significant upward trend in its core activities since the beginning of March,” explains Riccardo Koppe, Chief Financial Officer of PCC SE, adding: “This positive business performance is based on higher capacity utilization and a consistently strong order book in the PCC Group’s chemical segments since the outbreak of the war in Iran.” So far, increases in raw material prices have been offset by higher selling prices, and there are no supply bottlenecks for raw materials. This trend is currently continuing.
Group segment performance
The Surfactants & Derivatives segment remains the top revenue generator. Revenue and EBITDA declined due to lower prices. Since early March, the segment has seen a sharp increase in demand. This also applies to the Polyols & Derivatives segment, which closed the quarter with improved EBITDA despite a decline in revenue. In the Chlorine & Derivatives segment, prices remained stable in the first quarter compared with the previous quarter. Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, however, this resulted in a price-driven decline in revenue.
The temporary halt in silicon metal production continued into the first quarter of 2026. As a result, both revenue and losses in the Silicon & Derivatives segment declined significantly. Market forecasts anticipate a recovery in price levels by the end of 2026 or early 2027, and under certain economic and regulatory conditions, PCC SE could then consider resuming production.
Business in the Trade & Services segment performed exceptionally well. Revenue rose by 26.2%, EBITDA by 34.9%, and EBT nearly quintupled compared with the same quarter of the previous year. In the Logistics segment, intermodal container logistics maintained its market leadership in Poland. Since early March, the segment has once again been posting increases in revenue and operating profit. For the first quarter as a whole, revenue and earnings declined slightly compared with the same quarter of the previous year.
In the Holding & Projects segment, we were able to further increase capacity utilization at the alkoxylate plant in Malaysia, which began operations in 2024, and reached nearly full capacity in March. Another chlor-alkali plant project that we had been pursuing in the U.S. was initially continued in the first quarter of 2026, then suspended, and ultimately discontinued.
Repayment of maturing bonds
On April 1, 2026, PCC SE redeemed the 4.00% bond (ISIN DE000A3MQZM5) issued in 2022, which was a bullet bond. The redemption amount was €21.0 million.
The consolidated financial figures cited are unaudited. This quarterly report is available online at https://www.pcc-finanzinformationen.eu. The PCC SE Annual Report for 2025, containing the final audited financial results for the past year, is also available for download there.
