Duisburg, March 7, 2022. March 17 sees us publish our financial report for the fourth quarter of 2021 together with preliminary figures for the full fiscal year – one of the best in our 28-year history. We were also planning to provide with said publication an initial outlook indicating expectations for an equally successful 2022. However, we are aware that any positive news along such lines is currently overshadowed by the inconceivable war in Ukraine. PCC is also impacted by this conflict: For example, our production companies in Poland obtain some of their raw materials from Russia. However, long before the current escalation of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, we successfully sought to increase supply volumes from other sources. Alternative transport routes have also been explored for raw materials supplied from other countries of the east. After what is expected to be a very successful first quarter of 2022, we therefore currently believe that we are also well placed for a good set of Q2 results. However, it is currently not possible to accurately assess the consequences that any further escalation of the war might have for us all.
Our concern and compassion are, of course, with and for the civilian population in the conflict zone. We are in contact with our three employees at the PCC trading company TzOW PetroCarboChem in Lviv in western Ukraine and have offered them help and support. Moreover, we are planning to deliver two tankers of sodium hypochlorite (bleaching lye) for drinking water treatment to Ukraine this week, free of charge, in order to at least somewhat alleviate the plight of the people there. Totaling 40,000 liters, the volume of bleaching lye we are providing will be sufficient to treat 8 billion liters of drinking water. We will report on further actions, as well as other impacts of the war on PCC, either in our webcast or in further news bulletins as the occasion arises.