Nabaltec_E_GB2016

INTERVIEW WITH THE MANAGEMENT BOARD 07 “WE ESTABLISHED THE FOUNDATION FOR OUR SUCCESS YEARS AGO AND POSTED REVENUES OF EUR 159.2 MILLION, EVEN HIGHER THAN OUR RECORD HIGH IN THE YEAR BEFORE.” You increased revenues again in 2016 and posted solid results. Looking at the steady improvement in recent years, was that al- most a matter of course? JOHANNES HECKMANN: Not so much a matter of course as rather the result of our consistent work. After all, we established the foundation for the steady improvement you mentioned and for our success years ago. We have always remained faithful to our strategy and have not allowed ourselves to be disturbed by challenges in our environ- ment, in the economy, in individual target markets or from our competitors. Following this plan, we have been able to continuously post revenue growth, and our 2016 revenues of EUR 159.2 million were even higher than our record-high revenue in the year before. We are also satisfied with our operating profit of EUR 12.2 million, which has to be rated highly in view of the circumstances of the past year. DR. MICHAEL KLIMES: The right strategy and the performance of our employees are surely most important for the long-term success of our company. We have been able to report steady growth worldwide in each of our business divisions and are one of the leading suppliers today in each of our target sectors. This is due above all to our flexibil- ity and the close relationships we maintain with our customers, whose requirements we always try to meet to the best of our ability. In the business division “Functional Fillers” our halogen-free flame retardant materials are increasingly in demand, due in particular to growing environmental aware- ness in the target markets. The business division “Technical Ceramics” continues to make progress with its ceramic bodies and materials, and here as well we have the ability to adapt product characteristics using new refinement methods. The con- stantly changing customer requirements are a key part of our innovation process and ensure that we edit the right themes. And as obvious is it sounds: we work hard every day to make sure this process succeeds. The developments in connection with the Nashtec subsidiary in the US were a defining topic in 2016. How exactly was Nabaltec able to adapt to this extraordinary situa- tion? JOHANNES HECKMANN: We had to devote very intensive attention to our US subsidiary Nashtec in 2016 due to the unexpected bank- ruptcy of its raw material supplier, Sherwin Alumina LLC. Since then, we raised our inter- est in Nashtec to 100% in March 2017 and were therefore able to establish a complete Annual Report 2016 | Nabaltec AG ||||

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