After a drastic dividend cut last year, Lanxess shareholders can once again hope for a higher payout.

Lanxess wants to remain a "company that allows its shareholders to participate reliably in the success of our business through our dividends, among other things," said CEO Matthias Zachert in the speech to the Annual General Meeting on Friday, which was published on Tuesday. "Even though we will always take the company's financial situation and economic developments into account, we are aiming for an increasing or at least stable dividend."

Following the slump in earnings in 2023, Lanxess shareholders are only to receive a dividend of ten cents per share for the past year. In the two previous years, it had been EUR 1.05. However, the Cologne-based company is hoping that business will pick up again this year. "We are out of the woods and 2024 will be better than last year," said Zachert. "As soon as the economy gives us a tailwind again, we want to switch back into growth mode." Many customers have finished destocking and sales volumes are on the rise again. Zachert confirmed that Lanxess expects adjusted operating profit (EBITDA) to increase by ten to 20 percent this year.

(Report by Patricia Weiß. Edited by Olaf Brenner. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)