Wacker's "REFOCUS" Targets: Growth Above GDP, 15% EBITDA Margin, ROCE Over 10%
Wacker's "REFOCUS" Targets: Growth Above GDP, 15% EBITDA Margin, ROCE Over 10%
WACKER has set out a new medium-term financial framework under the name REFOCUS, presented at its Capital Markets Day. The group aims to grow faster than global GDP, deliver an EBITDA margin of 15% plus or minus two percentage points, and sustain return on capital employed (ROCE) above 10%. The strategy rests on selective market focus, differentiated portfolio steering and the PACE cost-savings and efficiency programme, which is expected to generate more than €300 million in annual savings from 2028. Annual capital expenditure is planned at €300–400 million—below depreciation and amortisation—so that growth investment remains disciplined while free cash flow and returns improve.
The Three Financial Ambitions
Outpacing global economic growth is intended to come from an improved product mix and faster expansion in chosen segments rather than volume growth across the entire portfolio. The 15% EBITDA margin target represents a substantial step-up from the average of recent years and from the low-double-digit levels still visible in near-term guidance. ROCE above 10% on a sustainable basis is the capital-efficiency counterpart: management wants returns that clearly exceed the cost of capital once the cost base is reset and capital is concentrated on higher-value activities.
How REFOCUS Is Structured
REFOCUS is built on three strategic priorities: elevating the business model and value proposition, unleashing the potential of structure and processes, and excelling with people and culture. In practical terms this means tighter market selection, clearer role definitions for businesses (growth versus cash generation), and a sustained efficiency drive. CEO Christian Hartel has framed the approach as unlocking full potential through selective growth and sustainably higher profitability in a more demanding geopolitical and economic environment.
PACE: The Cost and Efficiency Engine
The PACE programme, launched in 2025, is the main lever for margin expansion. It is designed to deliver more than €300 million of annual savings starting in 2028. Early benefits are already visible in recent quarterly results, where cost savings contributed to a rebound in EBITDA margin. Completing the programme on schedule is critical: without the cost reduction, the 15% margin ambition would depend more heavily on price and mix, which are harder to control in cyclical specialty markets.
Capital Allocation Discipline
Planned investment of €300–400 million per year sits below depreciation. That implies a period of relatively modest net capacity expansion and a focus on debottlenecking, product-mix upgrades and selected growth projects rather than large greenfield builds. CFO Tobias Ohler has emphasised more targeted steering of business and investment according to defined portfolio roles. In attractive growth markets—electronics, healthcare, mobility and related applications—capital will be prioritised; in mature markets the emphasis is on operational excellence, higher ROCE and fuller use of existing assets.
Division-Level Priorities
Silicones will concentrate on e-mobility and high-performance electronics. Polymers will lean into vinyl acetate ethylene (VAE) dispersions and tailored solutions. Biosolutions targets biopharma, medical and renewables-based food ingredients. Polysilicon aims to extend its position in semiconductor-grade material, supported by recent capacity additions such as the new Burghausen line. Across the portfolio the common theme is moving up the value curve and away from purely volume-driven competition.
Context and Near-Term Reality
WACKER’s near-term outlook still reflects a difficult operating environment: full-year 2026 sales growth has been guided in the mid-single-digit range and EBITDA in a band that implies margins below the long-term 15% target. REFOCUS is therefore a multi-year bridge from today’s cost and margin position to a higher structural level. Success will depend on executing PACE fully, defending and expanding high-value niches, and keeping capital spending tightly aligned with return hurdles.
Outlook
REFOCUS sets clear, measurable ambitions—GDP+ growth, a 15% EBITDA margin band and ROCE above 10%—and ties them to concrete levers: selective growth, portfolio differentiation and more than €300 million of annual PACE savings from 2028. For investors and customers the test will be whether the cost programme lands on time, whether the chosen growth segments deliver the expected mix improvement, and whether capital discipline holds when demand recovers. If those conditions are met, WACKER aims to emerge with a leaner cost base, a higher-value product mix and returns that more consistently exceed the cost of capital.
Sources
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