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November 09, 2018 01:00 AM

Slow demand, high costs impact Continental rubber group financials

European Rubber Journal Report
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    HANOVER, Germany—Continental A.G.'s rubber group generated total sales of around $14.7 billion in the first nine months of 2018, up slightly from $14.1 billion for the same period last year.

    Earnings (EBITDA) fell 8.4 percent to $2.63 billion for the nine months to end of September, the German technology and automotive supplier said Nov. 8.

    Tire sales for the period declined 11 percent to $9.39 billion for the period, despite a slight rise in sales in the third quarter.

    Tire segment's earnings also fell 9.7 percent to $2 billion during the nine-month period.

    According to Conti, sales figures for passenger and light truck tires were "slightly below" the previous year's level in original equipment business and on par with the previous year's figure in the tire replacement business.

    Sales figures in commercial-vehicle tire business were 3 percent higher than the level of the previous year.

    ContiTech reported growth in sales at $5.34 billion for the period, compared to 5.1 billion in 2017. Earnings, however, fell 3.8 percent to $600 million for the segment.

    Continental revised downward its results in August due to lower sales expectations, cost increases and undisclosed warranty cases.

    For the Rubber Group, the sales forecast was lowered to around $19.9 billion and the adjusted EBIT margin was revised to more than 13 percent.

    The company said that it was maintaining the forecast announced in August, based on its market assumptions.

    The corporation expects negative exchange-rate effects of around $1.36 billion across the group for the year 2018. In the first nine months of 2018, changes in exchange rates had a negative impact on sales of about $1.24 billion.

    Another factor impacting the Rubber Group's results is the price of crude, according to Conti.

    "Every $10 increase in the average price of crude oil equates to a negative annual gross effect on EBIT of around $50 million," Conti said.

    The average price of North Sea Brent was around $54 in 2017 and $72 after the first nine months of 2018, according to the German company.

    "As a result, we expect costs for carbon black and other chemicals to increase by more than 20 percent compared to the average prices in 2017," Conti added.

    For butadiene, the company has lowered its forecast for the average price for the year from $1.60/kg last year to $1.45/kg in 2018. The average natural rubber price for the year has also been lowered to $1.44/kg from the previous year levels of $1.67/kg.

    For 2018 as a whole, Conti anticipates a negative impact of around $113.5 million in the Rubber Group due to the price increase for oil and higher prices for synthetic rubber. The company had previously expected the impact to be about $57 million.

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