06/25/2004 - Changing of the guard at Süd-Chemie

At today´s meeting, the Supervisory Board of Süd-Chemie AG, Munich appointed Dr. Günter von Au as new Chairman of the Managing Board. Upon joining the Group in mid-2001, the qualified chemist took over the position of Chief Executive Officer at its American subsidiary, Süd-Chemie Inc. in Louisville, Kentucky, USA and has held the office of Deputy Chairman of the Managing Board since the beginning of 2004.

Before joining Süd-Chemie, Dr. von Au worked for the Wacker Group for twenty-one years in the areas of research & development, production and marketing and sales, both in Germany and abroad. He most recently managed the group´s polymer division and was Chairman of Wacker Polymer Systems. Dr. von Au holds a seat on both the Economic Policy Committee and the Social and Wages Committee of the Bavarian Chemical Industry Association (VBCI )in Munich and is a member of the German Chemists´ Society (GDCh) in Frankfurt.

The Supervisory Board also elected Dr. Jürgen F. Kammer, previously Chairman of the Managing Board, as its new Chairman. Dr. Kammer has headed the company since 1992, having had a significant influence on expanding the Group´s technological lead and its international presence during his term of office.

Dr. Kammer studied Law and Economics. After completing his studies and obtaining a doctorate, he worked for the BASF Group from 1970 to 1991, holding numerous executive positions at home and abroad. In 1988, he took over as Chairman of the Executive Board of BASF Lacke und Farben AG in Münster and became head of the paints and coatings division.

In addition to his commitments at Süd-Chemie, Dr. Kammer also holds many honorary positions in industry and trade associations. Since 2001, he has been Vice President of the Chemical Industry Association (VCI) in Frankfurt.

Following today´s meeting, Dr. Karl Wamsler retired from the Supervisory Board, having guided the destiny of Süd-Chemie AG for more than four decades. For his great services to the company, Dr. Wamsler was appointed Honorary Chairman by the Supervisory Board, over which he had presided since 1992.

As a chemist, he began his career in the petrochemical industry at Shell. After joining Süd-Chemie in 1962, he played a significant role in promoting the development of the company from a medium-sized Bavarian enterprise to an international group operating on a global scale, both as a member of the Managing Board (1963 to 1992) and as its Chairman (from 1984).

In addition to his involvement in Süd-Chemie, Dr. Wamsler also holds numerous honorary positions in industry and employers´ associations at both national and federal state level. For almost twenty years, he belonged to the Board of the Chemical Industry Association, acting as its President from 1980 to 1982. In Bavaria, he has been involved in various associations for many decades, holding positions such as Deputy Chairman of the Association of Bavarian Industry and notably also as Chairman of the Bavarian chemical associations, which appointed him an honorary member in 1993.

During the Süd-Chemie AG Annual General Meeting, which preceded the meeting of the Supervisory Board, Dr. Kammer was able to report to the shareholders on a successful business year in 2003. Sales rose to €763 million (+1% against 2002) and the operating result (EBIT) by 11% to €44.6 million. It was possible to increase net income by 44%, or €4.6 million, to €15 million. In view of the continuing poor economic environment for companies in the European chemical industry, Dr. Kammer confirmed that the 2003 results were satisfactory and interpreted the earnings figures as an endorsement of the consistent restructuring and efficiency-enhancing schemes of recent years. Dr. Kammer thanked the employees for their exceptionally high level of commitment and the shareholders for their loyalty and their confidence in the company.

In his outlook for the coming years, Dr. von Au outlined prospects of additional growth for the company in foreign markets. In view of reviving demand on the relevant markets, he anticipated a marked improvement in the sales and earnings position in 2004.

During the Annual General Meeting, Süd-Chemie´s shareholders passed a resolution on distribution of a dividend of €0.62 per share. This is equivalent to a total dividend of €7.3 million and represents a continuation of Süd-Chemie AG´s stable dividend policy.

Munich, 25 June 2004

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Süd-Chemie is an independent group in the field of speciality chemistry. Its core interests, which include energy, the environment and sparing use of resources, are promoted by the two divisions of Catalytic Technology and Adsorbents. With some 5,000 employees active in more than sixty production and sales companies worldwide, sales of €763 million were generated in 2003.