Oxea Sarl Reports Strong Third Quarter Results

Third Quarter Highlights

LUXEMBOURG, November 22, 2010 - Oxea Sarl, a leading global supplier of Oxo Intermediates and Oxo
Derivatives, today announced third quarter net sales of EUR367.2 million, a
52% increase from the same period last year. Oxea's strong performance in the
third quarter demonstrates the robustness of the business model. Recovery in
the US and European regions coupled with continued strong demand from Asia
contributed to the excellent results. Q3 2010 Adjusted EBITDA at EUR46.5
million, and an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 12.7%, reflects an excellent
performance for Oxea and underlines the strong relationships with customers
and the valuable contribution of Oxea's employees to the success of the
business. After the recent refinancing, net debt is around 2.9x EBITDA as a
result of the current trading.

In EUR million - Unaudited

    Three months ended   Nine Months ended
                           September 30,        September 30,
                            2010     2009        2010     2009 

    Net Sales              367.2    240.9     1,014.1    641.8
    Gross Profit            56.7     28.2       145.5     67.6
    SG&A                   (13.9)    (8.2)      (35.9)   (22.8)
    R&D                     (1.3)    (2.1)       (4.2)    (6.1)
    Other operating
     income/(expense)       36.1      2.8        40.1      3.8
    Operating Result        77.6     20.7       145.6     42.5
    Net Income              50.4      5.0        86.8     11.4
    Adjusted EBITDA         46.5     29.0       133.5     70.8

Sales

Sales for the three months ended September 30, 2010 were EUR367.2
million, a 52% increase compared with the corresponding period of the prior
year. The increase was driven by an increase of 14% 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 29% higher than in the prior year period.
Volumes in the Intermediates segment were some 11% higher than in the prior
year period. EUR181.5 million of our revenues for the three months ended
September 30, 2010, resulted from sales in Europe, EUR113.2 million in NAFTA
and EUR72.5 million in the rest of the world compared to EUR122.9 million,
EUR75.9 million and EUR42.1 million respectively in the prior year period.

Gross profit

Gross profit for the three months ended September 30, 2010 increased by
101% to EUR56.7 million compared with EUR28.2 million in the corresponding
period of the prior year. The increase of EUR28.5 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 such that gross profit increased to 15.4% of sales
compared with 11.7% in the corresponding period of the prior year.

Selling general & administration expense (SG&A)

SG&A expense for the three months ended September 30, 2010 increased to
EUR13.9 million compared with EUR8.2 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 September 30, 2010
amounted to EUR36.1 million compared with EUR2.8 million in the corresponding
period of the prior year. The increase is primarily attributable to gains on
the divestiture of the syngas and LDPE units in Oberhausen and the sale of
shares in one group entity. The net gain from these transactions amounted to
EUR39.7 million and is partly offset by lower income from site services.

Operating result

Operating result for the three months ended September 30, 2010 was
EUR77.6 million compared with EUR20.7 million in the corresponding period of
the prior year period as a result of increased volumes and improved operating
margins and net gains of some EUR39.7 million on divestitures partly offset
by increased operating costs.

Net Income

Net income was EUR50.4 million compared with EUR5.0 million in the
corresponding period of the prior year as a result of the improvement in
margins and higher sale volumes, net gains on divestitures with a
corresponding increase in operating profit offset by higher interest expense
arising from the recent refinancing and higher income taxes.

Adjusted EBITDA Adjusted EBITDA was some EUR46.5 million compared with
EUR29.0 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 and during the
first nine months of 2010 Oxea generated EUR44.8 million in cash from
operating activities compared with EUR46.5 million in the corresponding
period of the prior year. The increased earnings were offset by higher trade
working capital due to higher trading activity, higher inventory costs and
the maintenance turnaround in Bay City. Cash provided by investing activities
was EUR57.4 million compared with a utilisation of EUR12.2 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 EUR175.8 million
compared with EUR28.8 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,
cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, flavorings and fragrances, printing
inks and plastics. In the 12 months ending September 2010, Oxea generated
revenue of about EUR1.3 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

    sector: Chemicals
    ISIN: XS0523636594
    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, 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 at oxea-chemicals.com