The specialty chemicals group ALTANA is strongly affected by the worldwide economic crisis and reports significant decreases in sales and earnings. In the first quarter of the business year 2009, sales fell by 30 percent to €251.8 million; in the prior-year period sales had amounted to €357.6 million. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) decreased by 71% from €71.7 million in 2008 to €20.8 million. As a consequence, the EBITDA margin was down to 8.3 percent an...