HEXPOL's Annual Report for 2018 has today been published on our website www.hexpol.com.

In the "CEO comments", Mikael Fryklund, President and CEO, summarizes:

-          2018 was a strong year for the HEXPOL Group. We again managed to both increase our sales and achieve greater profit. We continued to strengthen our market positions in our main markets. Most important of all, however, were the two acquisitions implemented during the year and which, in line with our strategy, take us into new segments with value-generating offers in advanced elastomers while also allowing us to reach new geographic markets.

-          Our basic strategies for growth and profitability stand firm and we continue to work with our core areas to deliver excellence in technologically advanced products. At the same time, we continue to continuously evaluate new opportunities, in terms of market, segment and materials alike, that can complement how we respond to our customers and resolve their challenges. The two acquisitions we made in 2018 are excellent examples of the latter, as we are now strengthening our offering with largely new materials that can be offered to both existing and new customers. In September, we acquired Kirkhill Rubber. Kirkhill is an industry leader with experience in the aerospace, automotive and medical technology industries, as well as in other demanding industrial segments, most recently expanding within silicone and fluororubber. The state-of-the-art facility in Long Beach, California will be Kirkhill's sole production unit. Production not handled there is being transferred to other HEXPOL units in the US, generating additional synergies. Just a few weeks later, HEXPOL acquired 80 percent of the shares in Mesgo Group. Mesgo is a leading player in high-performance elastomers such as fluororubber and silicone but is also a specialist in conventional rubber compounds and thermoplastics. Its principal customer segments are industry, consumer products, transport and vehicles. With the acquisition, we are taking a strategic step into high-performance elastomers and, with Mesgo's strong position in Italy and local manufacturing in Poland and Turkey, we are also adding new geographic markets to our group.

In the Annual Report HEXPOL Group present, as previously, the work and results in the sustainability area.