Press Room

November 23, 2005

German Version

Cognis reports increase in sales and earnings for first nine months of 2005

Global specialty chemicals supplier Cognis achieved net external sales of 2,384 million euros in the first nine months of 2005. This is an increase by 2.7 percent on the first three quarters of 2004. Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before net financial result, income taxes, depreciation, amortization and exceptional items) was 0.6 percent higher at 284 million euros. Comments Cognis CEO Antonio Trius: “For 2005 as a whole we continue to expect moderate sales growth and full-year Adjusted EBITDA to remain in-line with 2004.”

All Strategic Business Units (SBUs) except Process Chemicals posted sales that exceeded the nine-month figures for 2004, with Care Chemicals and Nutrition & Health both achieving significant growth in sales. As a whole, the Cognis group’s organic net external sales (sales adjusted for the effects of currency fluctuations, acquisitions and divestments) were 4.0 percent higher than the previous year.

Sales by Strategic Business Unit (SBU)
The company’s largest SBU, Care Chemicals, reported the highest growth among the five Strategic Business Units, with a rise in sales of 9.1 percent to 946 million euros, driven by strong sales in all business lines.

With sales up 5.8 percent at 229 million euros, Nutrition & Health also achieved a significant increase in sales. This is largely due to the growth in branded ingredients specifically Tonalin^® conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), and in the pharma and health and sterols businesses. Sales improvement was partially offset by lower sales in the Vitamin E business.

Functional Products’ total sales amounted to 592 million euros, up 1.0 percent on the same period in 2004.

Process Chemicals’ nine-months-sales decreased 13.9 percent to 268 million euros. Half of the decrease in sales in the first three quarters of 2005 results from the disposal of the PVC stabilizers business effective July 1, 2004. The rest is a result of sales decreases in the textile business, whereas the leather and plastics businesses remained stable.

With total sales of 332 million euros, Oleochemicals achieved sales growth of 3.8 percent. This was mainly driven by higher sales of fatty acids and oilfield chemicals.

About Cognis
Cognis is a worldwide supplier of innovative specialty chemicals and nutritional ingredients. The company employs about 8,100 people, and it operates production sites and service centers in 30 countries. Cognis has dedicated its activities to a high level of sustainability and delivers natural source raw materials and ingredients for food, nutrition and healthcare markets, and the cosmetics, detergents and cleaners industries. Additionally, Cognis provides solutions for a number of other industries, such as coatings and inks, lubricants, textiles and plastics, as well as agriculture and mining.

Cognis is owned by private equity funds advised by Permira, GS Capital Partners, and SV Life Sciences. In 2004, Cognis recorded sales of 3.07 billion euros and an Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation, amortization and exceptional items) of 362 million euros.

Cautionary Statement
The statements we make in this release may include statements about our plans and future prospects for the company and the industry that are forward-looking statements. Our actual performance may differ materially from performance suggested by those statements. We urge you to review the cautionary statements in our quarterly and annual financial disclosures for information on factors that could cause those differences.

Contact
Susanne Marell, Vice President Corporate Communications
Cognis Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG
Phone: +49-2173-4995-222
E-mail: susanne.marell@cognis.com
Internet: www.cognis.com

Wulf Klüppelholz, Communications Manager
Cognis Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG
Phone: +49-2173-4995-221
E-mail: wulf.klueppelholz@cognis.com
Internet: www.cognis.com