Wacker Chemie’s group sales declined 4% to €5.49 billion in 2025, the third straight yearly drop, while EBITDA fell 43% to €427 million
Its solar-grade polysilicon business remained weak due to excess capacity in China and uncertainty over US antidumping tariffs
The management expects modest sales growth in 2026, driven by strong demand for semiconductor-grade polysilicon, while solar markets remain challenging
Germany-based chemical company Wacker Chemie reported group sales of €5.49 billion in 2025, down 4% from the previous year. The decline, its third in a row, was driven by lower volumes, including for solar-grade polysilicon, falling prices, and negative currency effects. The company plans to cut over 1,500 jobs, mostly in Germany.
The company saw sales declines of 22% in 2023 and 11% in 2024, following a 32% rise in 2022 amid strong demand for solar-grade polysilicon (see Wacker Chemie’s 2024 Sales Fall 11% Amid Weak Solar-Grade Polysilicon Market).
Lower volumes and prices weighed on group EBITDA, which declined by 43% to €427 million, with lower plant utilization rates and persistently high energy costs in Germany adding up.
The polysilicon business division reported a 7% YoY drop in sales to €883 million, while EBITDA declined 50% to €96 million. Wacker blames it on excess capacity in China and uncertainty from US antidumping tariffs, which continue to put pressure on the solar-grade polysilicon business.
“On the polysilicon front, WACKER had, moreover, expected the trade-policy uncertainties in the US market for solar-grade polysilicon to have been resolved over the course of the year, with the expectation that demand would have recovered. This did not prove to be the case,” it shared.
In comparison, business with hyperpure semiconductor-grade polysilicon performed very well, and the company sees this winning streak continuing into 2026.
For 2026, Wacker forecasts group sales to grow in the low-single-digit percentage range, while EBITDA is expected to range between €550 million and €700 million. Polysilicon sales are forecast to rise in the low-double-digit percentage range, as the company expects semiconductor-grade polysilicon volumes to increase substantially, but the solar-grade polysilicon business will remain challenging.
While it sees potential demand for solar-grade polysilicon growing, as regions like the US, Europe, India, and Southeast Asia build local solar supply chains and focus more on ESG standards, Wacker expressed concerns about rising trade disputes and geopolitical tensions that could still pose risks to its polysilicon business.
The German producer is pinning all its hopes for any possible uptick in the solar business on US trade policies, especially on the Section 232 polysilicon investigation. Notably, the US, with its demand for non-Chinese polysilicon, is an important destination for the German company’s solar business.
It explains, “The future price trend for WACKER’s solar-grade polysilicon may depend to a large extent on the outcome of these proceedings and on the degree to which market access is regulated. Depending on the outcome of these Section 232 proceedings, the price of solar-grade polysilicon could decline, which would make it difficult or impossible for WACKER to sell at prices that cover the costs.”
Speaking to analysts on the company’s earnings call, Wacker President and CEO Christian Hartel said, “If there is a positive Section 232 announcement, that could open, you know, for the next years an opportunity for us in solar, which we will obviously continue. If the Section 232 is not in a positive way, then it is very clear that solar will not be a continued business for us.”
Bernreuter Research says if this happens, Wacker may close its Nünchritz, Saxony solar-grade polysilicon production plant.