Oxea Sarl Reports Strong First Quarter Results

LUXEMBOURG, May 17, 2011 - First quarter highlights:

- Net sales were EUR377.0 million, up 30% from the prior year period

- Operating Result was EUR57.2 million versus EUR27.2 million in the
prior year Period

- Net Income was EUR30.0 million versus EUR13.0 million in the prior year
period

- Adjusted EBITDA was EUR65.7 million versus EUR36.7 million in the prior
year period

Oxea Sarl, a leading global supplier of Oxo Intermediates and Oxo
Derivatives, today announced first quarter net sales of EUR377.0 million, a
30% increase compared with the corresponding period the prior year. Oxea's
continued strong performance in the first quarter of 2011 further underlines
the robustness of the business model. Continued recovery in the US and
European regions coupled with strong demand from Asia again contributed to
another set of excellent results. The operating result more than doubled to
EUR57.2 million compared with EUR27.2 million in the corresponding period of
the prior year and operating margins increased to 15.2% compared with 9.4% in
the prior year period. EBITDA margins increased substantially to 17%. Q1 2011
Adjusted EBITDA at EUR65.7 million reflects an excellent performance for Oxea
and underlines the continued strong relationships with customers and the
valuable contribution of Oxea's employees to the success of the business.
After the refinancing in July 2010, net debt has been reduced to
approximately 1.9x EBITDA on an LTM basis.

                          Three months ended
    In EUR million             March 31,
    Unaudited                2011      2010
    ---------------------------------------
    Net Sales               377.0     289.3
    Gross Profit             68.1      34.0
    SG&A                    (10.3)     (7.6)
    R&D                      (1.5)     (1.5)
    Other operating
    income/(expense)          0.9       2.3
    Operating Result         57.2      27.2
    Net Income               30.0      13.0
    ---------------------------------------
    Adjusted EBITDA          65.7      36.7

Sales

Sales for the three months ended March 31, 2011 were EUR377.0 million, a
30% increase compared with the corresponding period of the prior year. The
increase was driven by an increase of 5% in total volumes, improved product
mix and the pass through of higher raw material costs to customers. The
volume increase was particularly strong in our Oxo Derivatives segment, where
volumes were some 11% higher than in the prior year period. Volumes in the
Intermediates segment were some 3% higher than in the prior year period. EUR
200.0 million of our revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2011,
resulted from sales in Europe, EUR107.4 million in NAFTA and EUR69.6 million
in the rest of the world compared to EUR143.7 million, EUR80.0 million and
EUR65.6 million respectively in the prior year period.

Gross profit

Gross profit for the three months ended March 31, 2011 doubled to EUR68.1
million compared with EUR34.0 million in the corresponding period of the
prior year. The increase of EUR34.1 million was attributable to higher
volumes in both Oxo Intermediates and Derivatives segments and improved
margins which more than offset the increase in raw materials and
manufacturing fixed costs such that gross profit increased to 18.1% of sales
compared with 11.8% in the corresponding period of the prior year.

Selling general & administration expense (SG&A)

SG&A expense for the three months ended March 31, 2011 increased to
EUR10.3 million compared with EUR7.6 million in the corresponding period of
the prior year. The increase is primarily attributable to increased selling
costs associated with higher volumes, and higher personnel costs including
salary increases and accruals for employee bonuses.

Other operating income/(expense)

Net other operating income for the three months ended March 31, 2011
amounted to EUR0.9 million compared with EUR2.3 million in the corresponding
period of the prior year. The decrease is primarily attributable to net
foreign exchange losses compared with net foreign exchange gains in the
corresponding period of the prior year.

Operating result Operating result for the three months ended March 31,
2011 was EUR57.2 million compared with EUR27.2 million in the corresponding
period of the prior year period as a result of increased volumes and improved
operating margins partly offset by higher SG&A expense other lower other
operating income.

Net Income

Net income for the three months ended March 31, 2011 was EUR30.0 million
compared with EUR13.0 million in the corresponding period of the prior year
as a result of the improvement in margins and higher sale volumes with a
corresponding increase in operating profit partly offset by higher interest
expense arising from the refinancing in July 2010 and higher income taxes.

Adjusted EBITDA

EBITDA margins increased to 17%. Adjusted EBITDA was some EUR65.7 million
compared with EUR36.7 million in the corresponding period of the prior year
driven by the improved volumes and improved operating margins.

Cash Flow

The company continued to generate positive free cash flow. In the first
quarter of 2011 Oxea generated EUR20.0 million in cash from operating
activities compared with a utilization of EUR8.6 million in the corresponding
period of the prior year as a result of increased earnings and improved
working capital which were partly offset by higher cash taxes. Cash used in
investing activities was EUR5.6 million compared with EUR4.0 million in the
corresponding period of the prior year driven by an increased capital
expenditure. Cash used in financing activities was EUR23.9 million compared
with EUR2.2 million in the corresponding period of the prior year as a result
of the semi annual payment of interest on the Senior Secured Notes issued in
July 2010.

Oxea is a global manufacturer of Oxo intermediates and derivatives such
as alcohols, polyols, carboxylic acids, specialty esters and amines. These
products are sold in the merchant market (where sales are to third party
customers) and used for the production of high-quality coatings, lubricants,
cosmetics and pharmaceutical products, flavorings and fragrances, printing
inks and plastics. In the 12 months ending December 2010, Oxea generated
revenue of about EUR1.4 billion with approximately 1,330 employees in Europe,
the Americas and Asia.

Forward looking statements

* This document contains financial information regarding the businesses
and assets of OXEA S.a.r.l. (the "Company") and its consolidated subsidiaries
(the "Group"). Such financial information has not been audited, reviewed or
verified by any independent accounting firm. The inclusion of such financial
information in this document or any related presentation should not be
regarded as a representation or warranty by the Company, any of its
respective affiliates, advisors or representatives or any other person as to
the accuracy or completeness of such information's portrayal of the financial
condition or results of operations by the Group.

* This document may contain information, data and predictions about our
markets and our competitive position. While we believe this data to be
reliable, it has not been independently verified, and we make no
representation or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of such
information set forth in this document. Additionally, industry publications
and reports from which such information, data or predictions may be obtained
generally state that the information contained therein has been obtained from
sources believed to be reliable but that the accuracy and completeness of
such information is not guaranteed and in some instances state that they do
not assume liability for such information. We cannot therefore assure you of
the accuracy and completeness of such information and we have not
independently verified such information. In addition, we have made statements
in this document regarding our industry and position in the industry based on
our experience and our own investigation of market conditions. We cannot
assure you that the assumptions underlying these statements are accurate or
correctly reflect the state and development of, or our position in, the
industry, and none of our internal surveys or information has been verified
by any independent sources.

* Certain statements in this document are forward-looking. By their
nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that
may or may not occur in the future. Forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance. These factors include, among others: the
cyclical and highly variable nature of our business and its sensitivity to
changes in supply and demand; adverse and uncertain global economic
conditions; the highly variable nature of raw materials costs and any loss of
key suppliers or supply shortages or disruptions; the competitive nature of
our industry; the ability to comply with current or future laws and
regulations relating to environmental, health and safety matters as well as
the safety of our products, related costs of maintaining compliance and
addressing liabilities as well as risks relating to compliance with antitrust
and tax laws; our reliance on a limited number of suppliers for certain of
our key raw materials; operational risks, including the risk of environmental
contamination and potential product liability claims; operational
interruptions at our facilities due to events that are outside of our control
such as severe weather conditions, unscheduled downtimes, terrorist attacks,
natural disasters or other events that may interrupt or damage our operations
or the impact of scheduled outages on our results of operations; the risk
that our insurance coverage may not be sufficient to cover all risks; risks
relating to the global nature of our operations, including, among others,
fluctuations in exchange rates; the loss of major customers or key customers
for certain of our products; the loss of key personnel; risks relating to
acquisitions and dispositions, including any impairment risks with respect to
historical acquisitions, our ability to successfully integrate acquired
businesses, and unexpected liabilities relating to such acquisitions or
contingent liabilities in connection with such dispositions; the requirement
to make further contributions to our pension schemes; the failure to protect
our intellectual property rights; limitations on our ability to adjust the
quality of certain products that we manufacture; and potential conflicts of
interests with our principal shareholder.

* These and other factors could adversely affect the outcome and
financial effects of the plans and events described herein. Forward-looking
statements contained in this document regarding past trends or activities
should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will
continue in the future. New risks can emerge from time to time, and it is not
possible for us to predict all such risks, nor can we assess the impact of
all such risks on our business or the extent to which any risks, or
combination of risks and other factors, may cause actual results to differ
materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Neither
the Company nor the Group undertakes any obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date of this document.

Use of non IFRS financial information:

* EBITDA is defined as net income for the year before financial result,
income taxes, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA, is a supplemental
measure of our performance and liquidity that is not required by or presented
in accordance with IFRS. EBITDA is not a measurement of our financial
performance or liquidity under IFRS and should not be considered as an
alternative to profit for the period presented, results from operating
activities or any other performance measures derived in accordance with IFRS
or as an alternative to cash flow from operating activities as a measure of
our liquidity. We believe EBITDA facilitates operating performance
comparisons from period to period and company to company by eliminating
potential differences caused by variations in capital structures (affecting
interest expense), tax positions (such as the impact on periods or companies
of change in effective tax rates or net operating losses) and the age and
book value and amortization of tangible and intangible assets (which have an
effect on related depreciation expense). We also present EBITDA because we
believe it is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other
interested parties in the evaluation of similar issuers, the majority of
which present EBITDA when reporting their results. Finally, we present EBITDA
as a measure of our ability to service our debt.

* Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA adjusted to remove the effects of
certain non-cash and non-recurring expenses and charges. Adjusted EBITDA is a
supplemental measure of our performance and liquidity that is not required by
or presented in accordance with IFRS. Adjusted EBITDA is not a measurement of
our financial performance or liquidity under IFRS and should not be
considered as an alternative to profit for the period presented, results from
operating activities or any other performance measures derived in accordance
with IFRS or as an alternative to cash flow from operating activities as a
measure of our liquidity. We believe Adjusted EBITDA facilitates operating
performance comparisons from period to period and company to company by
eliminating certain non-recurring expenses and charges. We also present
Adjusted EBITDA because we believe it is frequently used by securities
analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of similar
issuers. Finally, we present Adjusted EBITDA as a measure of our ability to
service our debt.

    Further inquiry note:

    Neil Robertson
    Managing Director (Finance, IT)
    neil.robertson@oxea-chemicals.com

    Birgit Reichel
    Global Communications
    birgit.reichel@oxea-chemicals.com

    company:
    Oxea GmbH
    Otto-Roelen-Strasse 3
    D-46147 Oberhausen
    phone: +49(0)208-693-3112
    FAX: +49(0)208-693-3101
    mail: birgit.reichel@oxea-chemicals.com

WWW: www.oxea-chemicals.com

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