Essen, Germany. At today’s meeting, the Executive Board discussed Evonik's dividend policy based on the preliminary results for 2025 and the outlook for 2026. As reported in an ad hoc announcement earlier today, Evonik targets an annual shareholder distribution of between 40 and 60 percent of adjusted net income starting with the 2026 financial year. The measure is introduced to increase financial flexibility. For the fiscal year 2025, the company plans to distribute €1.00 per share as a transition to the future dividend policy. This corresponds to a current dividend yield of about 7 percent. Previously, the annual dividend amounted to €1.17 per share.
"We need a good balance between appropriate shareholder profit sharing and the ability to invest in the best future projects at the proper time and decrease leverage further," says Christian Kullmann, Chairman of the Executive Board. "Our new dividend policy improves that balance."
Evonik has met its earnings guidance for 2025. According to preliminary, unaudited results, adjusted EBITDA amounted to €1.874 billion, in line with the guidance of around €1.9 billion.
At €14.1 billion, sales in 2025 were about 7 percent below the previous year. The cash conversion rate of 37 percent reached the upper end of the target range of 30 to 40 percent, based on a strong free cash flow of €695 million.
"The high level of cash generation is remarkable and sets Evonik apart," says Claus Rettig, who is temporarily handling operations at the finance department. "We are comfortably covering the planned shareholder distribution and are in an excellent competitive position."
The Chief Financial Officer position, which became vacant in September, is to be filled by the 2026 Annual General Meeting. Evonik reported net income of €265 million for 2025 (2024: €222 million).
In 2025, the efficiency program Evonik Tailor Made helped to reduce hierarchies and accelerate decision-making. In the current year, it will further contribute to planned cost reductions, partly by eliminating as many as 2,000 jobs. SYNEQT, the operating company for the German chemical parks in Marl and Wesseling, became an independent entity at the beginning of the year.
The economic environment remains challenging in 2026. Therefore, Evonik expects an adjusted EBITDA of between €1.7 and €2.0 billion for the current fiscal year. In the medium term, Evonik is fully focused on its goal of earning a return on capital employed (ROCE) of 11 percent.
Evonik will publish 2025 full-year results on March 4, 2026, as previously scheduled.