Degussa AG: Interim report January 1 - June 30, 2006

Dusseldorf, Germany (ots) -

Ladies and Gentleman,

Please find attached our press release as well as the full
interium report for the period January 1 - June 30, 2006

Kind regards,
Hannelore Gantzer

- cross reference: Interim report for the period January 1 - June
30, 2006 is available at
http://www.presseportal.de/dokumente.html

Interim report January 1 - June 30, 2006

- Perceptible volume and price rises
- Sales advanced 16 percent year-on-year while EBIT grew by 19
percent
- Strong improvement in Group net income
- Outlook for 2006 unchanged: year-on-year rise in sales and EBIT

"The favourable trend reported for the first months of the year
has continued and we were able to grow business appreciably in all
regions. Thanks to higher volumes and successful price rises, the
operating profit improved considerably," commented Dr. Klaus Engel,
Chairman of the Board of Management of Degussa AG, Dusseldorf, on
Tuesday when the company published its interim report on the first
half of 2006.

Sales up 16 percent

Degussa lifted sales substantially from EUR 4,712 million to EUR
5,456 million in the first six months of 2006. It was especially
pleasing that 7 percentage points of this came from higher selling
prices while 5 percentage points were due to higher volumes. Changes
in the scope of consolidation accounted for a further 3 percentage
points of the increase in sales and exchange rate movements for one
percentage point.

EBIT 19 percent higher

In the first six months, EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes)
increased to EUR 437 million, compared with EUR 368 million in the
first half of 2005. Earnings were boosted by successful price rises,
high capacity utilization and effective cost-savings. However, the
sharp hike in raw material and energy costs had a negative impact. In
the first six months of 2006 Degussa's internal raw material cost
index was 17 percent higher than in the same period of 2005, while
energy costs were around 23 percent higher.

Strong improvement in Group net income

Group net income after minorities increased by 123 percent from
EUR 168 million in H1 2005 to EUR 375 million in H1 2006. As a
result, earnings per share improved to EUR 1.82 (H1 2005: EUR 0.82).

Outlook for 2006 unchanged: year-on-year rise in sales and EBIT

Degussa expects the good operating performance to continue in the
coming months. However, a further rise in raw material and energy
costs could trim profit margins. The company intends to respond to
this by adjusting prices and stepping up cost-savings. Engel: "In
all, we still expect to report a year-on-year improvement in sales
and EBIT in 2006. However, the high growth rates seen in the first
half of the year will drop back in the second half of the year."

Degussa is the global market leader in specialty chemicals. Our
business is creating essentials-innovative products and system
solutions that make indispensable contributions to our customers'
success. In fiscal 2005 around 44,000 employees worldwide generated
sales of 11.8 billion euros and operating profits (EBIT) of 940
million euros.

Originaltext: Degussa AG
digital press kits: http://presseportal.de/story.htx?firmaid=18754
press kits via RSS: feed://presseportal.de/rss/pm_18754.rss2
ISIN: DE0005421903

Contact:
Reinhard Scheiler
Corporate Communications
T +49-211-65041-370
F +49-211-65041-527
reinhard.scheiler@degussa.com