Wacker Chemie Falls Most in 2 1/2 Years as Net Misses Estimates

Wacker Chemie AG (WCH), the second-biggest producer of solar-grade silicon, fell the most in 2 1/2 years after quarterly profit missed estimates.

Net income rose to 143 million euros ($202 million) in the second quarter, Wacker said in a statement today. That compares with the 152 million-euro mean estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The stock traded down 9.8 percent at 117.30 euros at 11:42 a.m. in Frankfurt, the biggest drop since December 2008.

Wacker is spending more on new production lines just as capacity increases from Chinese rivals including GCL Poly Energy Holdings crater the spot market for the material, known as polysilicon. The price slumped 28 percent in June from the previous month as demand from solar cell makers declined after governments in Germany and Italy reined in subsidies.

Wacker, based in Munich, spent 208.3 million euros in the quarter expanding plants at Nuenchritz, Germany, and Charleston, Tennessee. A new factory in Charleston with 15,000 tons-a-year capacity will be completed by the end of 2013.

Polysilicon slipped a further 5.1 percent in July to $51.17 per kilo on average, according to an index by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Prices will continue to fall for the next 12 months, 52 percent of respondents in a BNEF survey said.

Wacker’s gross margin narrowed to 27 percent from 31 percent in the previous quarter.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sills in Madrid at bsills@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net