Dutch chemicals group DSM (Heerlen; www.dsm.com) said revenue rose 14% in 2021 to EUR 9.2 bn versus the year earlier, and adjusted EBITDA jumped 18% to EUR 1.8 bn. These represented significant increases from the pre-pandemic year of 2019, when sales reached almost EUR 8 bn and earnings were quoted at EUR 1.55 bn.

Net profit in 2021 surged to EUR 1.68 bn, more than triple the previous year, the company said. However, the sale of its Resins & Functional Materials unit to Covestro (see Plasteurope.com of 06.10.2020) and the divestment of minority stake in US resin maker AOC (15.07.2021) played key roles in the increase. Together, the two deals garnered around EUR 1.7 bn, and some of the proceeds were used to buy several smaller organic and food companies.

Interestingly, the smaller materials area currently up for sale provided a strong boost for earnings, slowing only near the end of the year. A German media report says the division, which covers polyamide specialities, polyesters, TPC, and UHMW-PE fibres, is a takeover target for Germany’s Lanxess (Cologne; www.lanxess.com – see Plasteurope.com Web of 31.01.2022), and the business recorded a 27% rise in sales to EUR 1.94 bn. Adjusted EBITDA soared 60% to EUR 435 mn, the company sad, and sales volume was 6% higher.

Since the beginning of the year, the Materials segment has been operated independently under the management of Helen Mets. The focus of further development is primarily on solutions based on renewable raw materials and so-called circular products.

In contrast, growth at the EUR 7 bn Nutrition unit, the company’s favoured business area, was rather modest, with DSM reporting a 10% rise in revenue and 8% more operating profit. Nevertheless, CEOs Geraldine Matchett and Dimitri de Vreeze are staying the course and said they expect significantly better results for health and nutrition products in the future.