Decision of Swiss National Bank

On 15 January 2015, the Swiss National Bank announced that it was discontinuing the minimum exchange rate of CHF 1.20 per euro. The Swiss franc increased in 2015 to an average of CHF 1.08 per Euro (an increase of 10% compared to the previous year). The appreciation of the Swiss franc with the weakening or devaluation of the Euro compared to the US dollar, did impact Clariant’s sales and profitability in absolute terms, but was fairly neutral in terms of relative margins. Other important currencies for Clariant showed a mixed picture compared to the Swiss franc. While the Brazilian real (–32%), the Indian rupee (–4%) and the Japanese yen (–1%) lost, the US dollar was unchanged against the Swiss currency.