With the withdrawal from its solar wafer joint venture with Schott, Wacker incurred an investment loss of €51.9 million, nearly €2 million more than its estimate at the end of September, 2009 when the exit was announced. This meant that its polysilicon division’s profit margins were impacted in its third quarter financial results.
Wacker Polysilicon posted sales €268.6 million, 12% above the level reached in the same period a year ago, even though prices for short-term orders were lower than a year earlier, the company noted.
The reported quarterly sales were a new record for the company as it benefited from the ramp-up at its Burghausen polycrystalline silicon facility. The company said that its new plant, currently under construction at Nünchritz was on track to start production before the end of 2011.
The current plan has remained unchanged, whereby Wacker plans to increase polysilicon capacity from 15,000MT/year in 2009 to 35,500 tonnes by the end of 2011.
