HANOVER, Germany—Continental A.G.'s business situation improved "substantially" during the second quarter of 2020, the Hanover-based group said in a July 20 trading update.
While reporting year-on-year declines across all business units for the three months to June 30, Continental said its performance was "above current average estimates of analysts."
Nevertheless, uncertainty remained about the COVID-19 pandemic, which had caused double-digit sales declines at all business segments, including Rubber Technologies.
The unit, comprising Continental's Tires and ContiTech businesses, achieved sales of $3.3 billion during the quarter, down 34 percent compared to the $5.2 billion reported in 2019.
This was a slightly better performance than that of the group as a whole; consolidated sales were down 41 percent to $7.6 billion for the three-month period.
In summary, Continental said it remained "difficult to gauge possible further adverse consequences (of COVID-19) on production, the supply chain and demand."
As a result, the group would not provide an outlook for the 2020 business year.
Continental will report its interim report for the first half of 2020 on Aug 5.