Chemicals group Lanxess posts high loss in third quarter
The chemical company Lanxess slipped into the red in the third quarter in a persistently difficult industry environment. The bottom line was a minus of 131 million euros compared to a plus of 80 million euros in the same quarter of the previous year, as the MDax-listed company announced on Wednesday. The Cologne-based company continues to be burdened by low demand from almost all industries and ongoing, albeit slowing, destocking by customers. As a result, turnover fell by almost 27 percent to 1.6 billion euros, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization as well as before special items plummeted by half to 119 million euros, as has been known since Monday.
Only on Monday, the company management led by CEO Matthias Zachert had lowered the annual outlook for the operating result (adjusted EBITDA) to between 500 and 550 million euros - down from 600 to 650 million euros previously. This was also due to a surprisingly weak start to the final quarter as a result of customers in the agricultural industry beginning to reduce their inventories and a supplier-related reduction in production in the Flavors & Fragrances division at the Botlek site (Netherlands). In addition, the management proposed a reduction in the dividend from EUR 1.05 to 10 cents per share. This is intended to reduce the high level of debt.
The third quarter's financial struggle for Lanxess, as acknowledged in their announcement, led to a significant loss of 131 million euros, contrasting the profit of 80 million euros in the same period last year. Analyzing the quarterly figures, it's clear that Lanxess's chemistry sector is facing a challenging environment.
Source: www.dpa.com
