Umicore cites recycling as bright spot in the first half of 2020

Belgium-based smelting and recycling company Umicore says a strong performance in its recycling operations helped offset COVID-19-related impacts in its Catalysis and Energy & Surface Technologies business units.

“Against the backdrop of severe disruptions to society and business caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Umicore demonstrated its resilience to extreme shocks and the complementarities of its business activities” in the first half of 2020, says the firm.

Umicore says it “achieved financial results broadly in line with those of the same period in 2019, with a very strong performance in Recycling offsetting the impact of the downturn in the automotive industry on the results of [the] Catalysis and Energy & Surface Technologies [business units].”

The company’s overall revenue fell by 4 percent for the first six months of 2020 to 1.6  billion euros ($1.9 billion) compared with the first half of 2020. Umicore says its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased by 5 percent in the first half to 376 million euros ($446.7 million).

States the firm, “Recycling recorded strong results reflecting increased activity levels, higher metal prices and favorable trading conditions. In addition, Precious Metals Refining benefited from a supportive supply environment and a higher availability of the Hoboken, Belgium, smelter compared to the first half of 2019, when the smelter underwent an extended planned maintenance shutdown of seven weeks.”

At its Hoboken smelter, Umicore says it melts and refines “precious metal-bearing materials such as byproducts from other nonferrous industries (e.g., drosses, mattes, speiss, anode slimes) [and] consumer and industrial recyclable products (e.g., electronic scrap, spent auto catalysts, spent industrial catalysts, sweeps and bullions).”

For the first half of 2020, Umicore cites “the contraction in the global car market” as a reason its revenue fell in its Catalysis operations, while “[r]evenues in Energy & Surface Technologies were impacted by a contraction of the global electric vehicle market, as well as lower activity levels in other key end-markets.”

Regarding the second half of the year, Umicore says, “Given the current evolution of the pandemic and the uncertainty it creates in Umicore’s key end markets, it remains impossible to provide a reliable quantified outlook for 2020.”  

The firm adds, “In Recycling, the first half performance should not be extrapolated to the second half, with the Hoboken smelter undergoing a four-week planned maintenance shutdown and seasonality effects in other businesses.”