Brenntag (BNR) Investor presentation summary

Market leadership and business model

• Holds a leading position in the global chemical distribution market, operating through two divisions: Specialties and Essentials.

• Maintains a highly diversified footprint with around 600 sites in over 70 countries, serving ~180,000 customers and sourcing from thousands of suppliers.

• Business model is asset-light, focused on value-added services, last-mile delivery, and digital enablement.

• Operates in a fragmented market, with the top six players holding only 11% market share.

• Differentiates through innovation, regulatory expertise, and a broad product portfolio.

Strategic transformation and growth

• Underwent a transformation since 2020, shifting to a divisional structure and focusing on digital, sustainability, and M&A.

• M&A is a core growth driver, with over 100 acquisitions since IPO and a robust pipeline of targets.

• Horizon 2 strategy emphasizes cost containment, digital excellence (DiDEX), and targeted disentanglement for value creation.

• Essentials division leverages a 'triple' business model for sourcing, supply chain, and last-mile operations.

• Specialties division focuses on margin expansion, value-added services, and portfolio optimization, especially in Life Science.

Financial performance FY 2024

• Sales reached EUR 16.2bn (-3.2% vs. PY fx adj.), operating gross profit EUR 4.0bn (-0.2%), and operating EBITA EUR 1,102m (-12.5%).

• Free cash flow was EUR 893m, with EPS at EUR 3.71 and a proposed dividend of EUR 2.10 per share.

• Both divisions saw EBITA declines: Specialties -11.9%, Essentials -14.1%, mainly due to inflation and DiDEX costs.

• ROCE stood at 15.6%, with a strong dividend track record and a leverage ratio of 1.9x.

• Cost-out program delivered EUR 50m savings in 2024, targeting EUR 300m p.a. by 2027.