Matthias Zachert
Chairman of the Board of Management

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, esteemed stockholders Welcome to this year's Annual Stockholders' Meeting. Thank you for taking the time to be here today. This Annual Stockholders Meeting is not a routine event. It is taking place at a time when the chemical industry in Europe is under immense pressure. It is taking place at a time when we, as a company, must provide clear answers, especially in areas where we can take countermeasures ourselves. My and our fundamental conviction at LANXESS is when the outside world is difficult, it does no good to wait for help from others. No, The key is to take matters into your own hands wherever you can make a difference. I would like to tell you more about that later in my speech today. about what we are doing and have done to cope as best as we can with the crisis bearing down on us from the outside.

Ladies and gentlemen, the European chemical industry, including LANXESS, is in the midst of a perfect storm. Multiple pressures are acting simultaneously. In some cases, these pressures reinforce one another. First, demand is weak in nearly all major customer industries, including building and construction, automotive and agriculture to name Just a few. And this is true in all relevant market regions. Even China, a long-time growth engine has not provided positive momentum for Europe in quite some time. Quite the contrary is true. We are seeing increasing competitive pressure from China, other Asian countries and the Middle East.

Over the past few years, massive overcapacities have been built up there. And now that the U.S. market is