Sluggish recovery

Despite sales growth: Lenzing still in the red

Lenzing AG employs 7778 people worldwide.(Bild: Pressefoto Scharinger/Daniel Scharinger)

The recovery of the markets relevant to Lenzing continues to be sluggish - nevertheless, the fiber producer was able to achieve initial successes in the first half of 2024. Revenue rose to EUR 1.31 billion, but earnings remain in the red.

The year 2024 has already been a busy one for Lenzing AG: a fire at the plant in Upper Austria caused a stir, then the B&C Group sold part of its shares to the Brazilian pulp giant Suzano. A few weeks ago, Rohit Aggarwal was introduced as the new CEO, who will take over from Stephan Sielaff in the near future.

Earnings after tax: minus 65.4 million euros
On Wednesday, however, it was Sielaff who presented the figures for the first half of 2024. What do they look like for the fiber producer from Upper Austria? At EUR 1.31 billion, turnover was 4.8 percent higher than in the first half of 2023. While the operating result before depreciation and amortization even climbed to EUR 164.4 million, Lenzing still ended up in the red in terms of earnings after tax: minus EUR 65.4 million. Earnings before taxes are also negative after the first half of the year: minus 22.3 million euros.

Optimization program "above plan"
"The business development of the Lenzing Group continues to point in the right direction, even without a significant recovery in the relevant markets", Sielaff emphasizes. In view of the savings and cost optimization package that has been put together, "the pressure within the organization remains high on the expenditure side," says Sielaff. CFO Nico Reiner emphasizes that the performance programme is "ahead of plan".

Logistics costs increased significantly
The biggest challenges? Not only is demand still not where it should be, but the costs for energy and raw materials also remain high. In addition, logistics costs also rose significantly in the first half of the year, according to Lenzing.