Group sales for the first half of 2010 amounted to €3,761 million. They were up by 25% compared to the first half of 2009, not including the pharmaceuticals activities; compared to Q1, sales from the Q2 improved by 16%. Sales from the chemicals cector (€1,444 million) were up +3% compared to the first half of 2009, with the improvement in sales volumes (+16%) compensating for the lower sales prices (-16%).

Sales from the plastics sector (€2,005 million) clearly improved (+48% compared to the first half of 2009), especially thanks to a significant increase in sales volumes in the "Specialties" cluster. Thus, sales volumes of specialty polymers in the first half were up by 45% compared to last year and, in the second quarter, were up by 15% compared to the first quarter.

Recurring Group operating result (REBIT1-2) from the first half of 2010 amounted to €329 million. Not including pharmaceuticals activities, it significantly improved compared to last year (€298 million in the first half of 2010 compared to €126 million in the first half of 2009). In Q2 (€183 million), it was up by 193% compared to Q2 of 2009 (€63 million) and by 59% compared to Q1 of 2010 (EUR 115 million).

The group's operating margin (REBIT on sales), excluding the pharmaceuticals activities, was 8.6% in the first half of 2010 compared to 4.6% in the first half of 2009; it amounted to 9.9% in the Q2 2010.
The net income of the group (€1,789 million) was up compared to the first half of 2009 due to the capital gain realized on the sale of the pharmaceuticals activities (€1.7 billion net of taxes). The net income of the Group for Q2 is down by €26 million in comparison with last year, due to an increase of €37 million in non recurring items.

The Rebitda1-3 of the group amounted to €549 million. Excluding the pharmaceuticals activities, it improved by 63% compared to the first half of 2009.

Following receipt of the payment for the sale of the pharmaceuticals activities on February 15 and in anticipation of reinvestment of these funds in industrial activities, the Solvay Group is in a net cash surplus situation (€2,526 million, or 36% of equity). The significant efforts made by the group last year in terms of cost reduction and improvement of operating cash flow are continuing. Thus, as previously announced, Solvay is working on a study (the "Horizon" project) aiming to optimize the effectiveness of its organization and to prepare for its future growth.