Product News
“Trading idea”: Clariant – it can only get better
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Serge Nussbaumer
Kapitalmarktexperte
The involvement in a cartel remains a major
burden for Clariant. However, this should not obscure the fact that
the specialty chemicals group is on track operationally.
Call warrant with knock-out on Clariant
Over five years ago, the European Commission punished a purchasing cartel in the ethylene market. Four companies had agreed on prices for the gaseous compound, which is mainly used in the production of plastics. Clariant admitted its involvement in 2020 and paid just under EUR 160 million. The specialty chemicals company is now facing several claims for damages, most recently from BP Europe and ExxonMobil. Clariant rejects the allegations and wants to prove that the cartel did not influence the market.
On the stock market, however, this issue is hanging like a heavy brake on the mid-cap. Clariant has been on a downward trend for several years, which has led to a loss in value of almost 30% to date. This weakness is of course also due to the environment. In a period characterized by trade conflicts and a diffuse economic outlook, cyclical chemical stocks generally have a difficult time. However, Clariant lost around 22 percentage points more than the European sector last year.
Will the turnaround come in 2026?
A comeback should not fail due to the valuation: the price/earnings (P/E) ratio for 2026 is below 9, based on the expectation that Clariant will increase net income by around 17%. The latest figures underpin the consensus: despite declining sales in the first nine months, the operating result (EBITDA before special items) rose by 4% to CHF 521 million and the EBITDA margin climbed to 18.0% (+160 basis points). CEO Conrad Keijzer emphasizes that effective cost and price management is paying off and confirms the forecast for the year as a whole.
“Despite declining sales, Clariant was able to improve the
operating margin in the first nine months of the year.”
The interim report not only shows that Clariant is on track operationally. The Group also recently caused a stir with an order from the Far East. SECCO Petrochemicals will use the “CLARITY Prime Digital Services” platform over the next ten years. This solution, which also uses artificial intelligence, will be used to optimize the performance of catalysts in an ethyl plant in Shanghai. This news may have prompted some investors to build up positions in Clariant. In any case, the SMIM share was able to make up ground in the second half of November. As a result, the technical chart support in the CHF 7 range held. The share is now even knocking on the downward trend that began in 2024.
Overall, this results in an attractive constellation for traders. For example, they could build up a position via the call warrant with knock-out (ISIN CH1436565647). With a leverage of 4.70, the open-end product participates disproportionately in rising Clariant prices. At CHF 5.749, the stop loss is around one fifth below the underlying price. However, this distance should not obscure the fact that this is a fairly speculative bet.
Product information*
| ISIN | CH1436565647 |
| Product type | Call warrant with knock-out |
| Underlying | Clariant |
| Issuer | BNP Paribas |
| Rating | A+ (S&P) |
| Trading currency | CHF |
| First trading day | 09.04.2025 |
| Maturity | open-end |
| Issue price | CHF 1.90 |
| Underlying | CHF 7,288 |
| Strike rate* | 72.82% |
| Knock-out* | 5.756 |
| Leverage* | 4.70 |
| Ask* | CHF 1.77 |
| Exchange | Swiss DOTS |
| Weblink | payoff.ch/CH1436565647 |
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