International. During the first nine months of 2019, Armacell generated net sales of €486.3 million, up 5.9% compared to the same period last year in comparable terms (Q9 2018: €459.2 million).
The company explained that the net sales growth was driven by volume growth in the advanced insulation business and the rapid growth of the global PET business.
Adjusted EBITDA for the first nine months of 2019 grew to EUR 98.1 million (9M 2018: EUR 77.8 million). The adoption of IFRS 16 amounted to €8.9 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin reached 20.2%.
Commenting on the company's financial performance, Patrick Mathieu, President and CEO of the Armacell Group, said: "In the third quarter of 2019, Armacell continued to deliver strong profitable growth. Our organic growth performance is on track and we again saw a positive contribution from recent acquisitions and projects implemented in 2018. Most recently, they commissioned a five-year expansion program for our global PET business and launched the industrial aerogel blanket line at our new South Korean Facility."
Max Padberg, CFO of the Armacell Group, added: "The strong increase in EBITDA during the first nine months of the year was mainly due to the increase in sales prices, the optimisation of freight costs and efficiency gains. Our strong operating free cash flow in the first nine months of 2019 reduced our leverage ratio to 5x from approximately 6x earlier this year."
