COLOGNE—Lanxess A.G. said it is systematically pressing ahead with its realignment, unveiling a three-phase program that ultimately will result in the consolidation of 14 business units to 10, effective in 2015.
The firm unveiled its “Let's Lanxess Again” plan along with its second quarter results on Aug. 6. The program will focus on three areas: business and administration structure competitiveness; operations competitiveness; and portfolio competitiveness.
The firm's sales dropped about 5.7 percent to about $2.86 billion, but its net income increased from about $12 million in 2013 to about $73.4 million. Lanxess attributed the increase in income to lower exceptional charges. In 2013, about $53.4 million had been incurred for restructuring the Performance Chemicals segment.
In addition to the consolidation, Lanxess will reduce its workforce on a cross-functional basis and consolidate specific areas of activity. The firm said the more efficient organizational structure is designed to enhance Lanxess' market and customer focus and reduce costs.
Lanxess said it will present further details on the restructuring at its Media and Capital Markets Day on Nov. 6.
“We have been working full steam over the past few months to create the foundation for our realignment,” CEO Matthias Zachert said in a statement. “We, as a team, will significantly improve our competitiveness by systematically implementing our program. We have started talks with the employee representatives on the implementation process, and we expect to quickly reach constructive solutions.”