Oxea Sarl Reports Strong Fourth Quarter Results

LUXEMBOURG, March 1, 2011 -

    - Oxea Sarl: Fourth quarter highlights:



    - Net sales were EUR351.2 million, up 43% from the prior year period
    - Operating Result was EUR37.6 million versus EUR24.3 million in the
      prior year period
    - Net Income was EUR24.3 million versus EUR16.8 million in the prior year
      period
    - Adjusted EBITDA was EUR46.4 million versus EUR34.2 million in the prior
      year period

Oxea Sarl, a leading global supplier of Oxo Intermediates and Oxo
Derivatives, today announced fourth quarter net sales of EUR351.2 million, a
43% increase from the same period last year.

Oxea's continued strong performance in the fourth quarter demonstrates
the robustness of the business model. Recovery in the US and European regions
coupled with continued strong demand from Asia contributed to another set of
outstanding results. Q4 2010 Adjusted EBITDA at EUR46.4 million, and an
Adjusted EBITDA margin of 13.2%, 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 2.1x EBITDA.

    In EUR million - Unaudited   

               Three months ended    Twelve Months ended
                  December 31,          December 31,
                       2010     2009       2010     2009
    Net Sales         351.2    246.2    1,365.3    888.0
    Gross Profit       44.4     30.9      190.0     98.5
    SG&A              (11.0)    (5.4)     (46.9)   (28.1)
    R&D                (1.3)    (1.1)      (5.5)    (3.7)
    Other operating
    income/(expense)    5.5     (0.1)      45.6      0.1
    Operating Result   37.6     24.3      183.2     66.8
    Net Income         24.3     16.8      111.1     28.2

    Adjusted EBITDA    46.4     34.2      179.9    105.0

Sales

Sales for the three months ended December 31, 2010 were EUR351.2 million,
a 43% increase compared with the corresponding period of the prior year. The
increase was driven by an increase of 8% 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 12% higher than in the prior year period. Volumes in
the Intermediates segment were some 7% higher than in the prior year period.
EUR183.2 million of our revenues for the three months ended December 31,
2010, resulted from sales in Europe, EUR103.3 million in NAFTA and EUR64.7
million in the rest of the world compared to EUR115.8 million, EUR77.8
million and EUR52.6 million respectively in the prior year period.

Gross profit

Gross profit for the three months ended December 31, 2010 increased by
44% to EUR44.4 million compared with EUR30.9 million in the corresponding
period of the prior year. The increase of EUR13.5 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.

Selling general & administration expense (SG&A)

SG&A expense for the three months ended December 31, 2010 increased to
EUR11.0 million compared with EUR5.4 million in the corresponding period of
the prior year. The increase is primarily attributable to higher consulting
fees in relation to projects, 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 December 31, 2010
amounted to EUR5.5 million compared with EUR0.1 million net other operating
expense in the corresponding period of the prior year. The increase is
primarily attributable to increased income from site services, insurance
proceeds and net foreign exchange gains.

Operating result

Operating result for the three months ended December 31, 2010 was EUR37.6
million compared with EUR24.3 million in the corresponding period of the
prior year period as a result of increased volumes and improved operating
margins and higher other operating income partly offset by higher SG&A
expense.

Net Income

Net income for the three months ended December 31, 2010 was EUR24.3
million compared with EUR16.8 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 and lower income taxes due
to a reduced effective tax rate partly offset by higher interest expense
arising from the refinancing in July 2010.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA was EUR46.4 million compared with EUR34.2 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 2010 Oxea
generated EUR135.6 million in cash from operating activities compared with
EUR77.6 million in the prior year as a result of increased earnings and lower
cash taxes which were partly offset by higher trade working capital. Cash
provided by investing activities was EUR50.2 million compared with an
utilisation of EUR22.3 million in the corresponding period of the prior year
driven by proceeds from divestitures in the amount of EUR79.0 million partly
offset by an increased level of capital expenditure. Cash used in financing
activities was EUR178.2 million compared with EUR41.0 million in the
corresponding period of the prior year whereby proceeds of some EUR505.7
million from the recent bond issue were used to repay existing bank debt and
shareholder loans.

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. 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

    Oxea GmbH
    Otto-Roelen-Strasse 3
    D-46147 Oberhausen
    www.oxea-chemicals.com

    company:     Oxea GmbH
                 Otto-Roelen-Strase 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
    sector:      Chemicals
    ISIN:        XS0523636594
    indexes:     stockmarkets: Open Market: Frankfurt

Further inquiry note: Neil Robertson, Managing Director (Finance, IT), neil.robertson at oxea-chemicals.com; Birgit Reichel, Global Communications, birgit.reichel at oxea-chemicals.com; Oxea GmbH, Otto-Roelen-Strasse 3, D-46147 Oberhausen; company: Oxea GmbH, Otto-Roelen-Strase 3, D-46147 Oberhausen, phone: +49(0)208 693 3112, FAX: +49(0)208 693 3101, mail: birgit.reichel at oxea-chemicals.com