Chairmen’s message

In 2017, Solvay continued to make progress. Our solid results, supported by significant growth in volumes, put us on track to fully realizing the mid-term objectives set in 2016. This allows us to continue including our shareholders in the Group’s growth, once again recommending an increase of more than 4% in the dividend.

Our good financial performance confirms once more the relevance of the portfolio transformation we have been undergoing since 2012. Today, Solvay is an advanced materials and specialty chemicals company, with a balanced presence on all continents. Some 70% of our portfolio consists of products from activities that constitute our growth engines, and our revamped customer profile includes, first and foremost, major names in automotive, aerospace and electronics.

This is a success of which we can rightly be proud. It also opens the door to other opportunities, as we operate in a world that is going through a profound transformation further accelerated by the massive introduction of digital.

Transforming our organization

Our priority today is Growth. We need to bolster our capacity to innovate and to serve our customers more effectively so as to generate strong, sustainable growth. This is the essence of the organizational transformation that we have just launched. It aims to simplify and lighten the organization to better adapt to the rapidly evolving demands of our customers and to the new challenges created by the digital revolution.

To be successful, we need to transform our culture fundamentally, to encourage the spirit of initiative and to foster collaboration – both within the Group and with our external partners - in order to better serve our customers.

We believe in the power of symbols. This is why we launched the transformation of our head office in Brussels. We want it to be innovative, open to outside influences nurturing collaboration, with more space for Research and Innovation. In parallel, we are going to create a world-class R&I center in Lyon.

The Group’s governance is adapting to these challenges. The new Comex, expanded and more representative of our cultural diversity and wealth of experience will contribute to the development of a customer-focused culture.

Sustainable development serving our growth

Our commitment to sustainable development is one of the drivers of our growth. In 2017, we surpassed the targets we set for our Group, with almost half of our sales already being generated by sustainable solutions and technologies, and with a carbon intensity that is declining year on year. Furthermore, we have launched Solvay Cares, a program that offers a minimum common level of social protection to all our employees worldwide. We are one of the few global groups to have instituted this type of initiative. We are proud to have done so in collaboration with our union representatives, which demonstrates the quality of the social dialog within the Group.

Nevertheless, there are still some areas where we need to do better, especially with respect to safety. While our overall results continue to improve year on year, we very much regret that a fatal accident occurred in 2017.

2018 is likely to be a year of strong challenges for Solvay as we implement the transformation of the organization and continue to add value for our stakeholders. It will also be the year in which we will prepare for the transition announced a few weeks ago - and we will take this important
step in the life of the Group together.

Nicolas Boël,
Chairman of the Board of Directors

Jean-Pierre Clamadieu,
Chairman of the Executive Committee and CEO