Clariant AG: Clariant returns to profitable growth, increasing both sales and profitability in the first quarter of 2021 First Quarter 2021 - Progression towards mid-term targets Muttenz, April 29, 2021 - Clariant, a focused, sustainable, and innovative specialty chemical company, today announced first quarter 2021 continuing operations sales of CHF 1.002 billion, compared to CHF 1.019 billion in the first quarter of 2020. This corresponds to a 2 % increase in local currency, whereas depreciating currencies led to a 2 % decrease in Swiss francs. The local currency expansion was driven by positive pricing. On a regional basis, sales in Europe increased by 17 % in local currency due in part to the weather-related improvement in the Aviation business. Sales in Asia also grew by 9 %, driven by the economic recovery and the undemanding comparison base in China in the first quarter of 2020. This improvement was followed closely by Latin America, where sales rose by 4 %. Sales in the Middle East & Africa declined by 9 %, while North America was 27 % lower primarily driven by the continued challenging environment in Oil Services and the business disruptions in Texas due to the winter storms.