Belgian chemicals group Solvay on June 23 said that sales in the second quarter of 2020 would likely fall by 20% year-on-year. It also expected to take an impairment charge of €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The goodwill from Solvay's $5.5 billion acquisition of Cytec in 2015 will contribute about 80% of the non-cash impairment. Cytec is a US-based specialist in mining chemicals and aerospace materials.
Solvay shares fell 3.4% in early trading, one of the weakest among FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European stocks which was down by only 0.6%. Solvay said it would provide details and analysis on its results in the first half of 2020 on July 29.
