Weaker auto demand hits Lanxess Engineering Materials

Cologne, Germany — Lanxess which supplies polyurethane CASE materials, had total sales of EUR 1.8bn in first quarter of 2019. This is up 0.33% on the equivalent period last year.

EBITDA across the business rose 2.2% and reached EUR 276m in the first quarter of 2019.

'Despite the weaker trading environment, we have made a good start to the new fiscal year. Our results are further proof that we are on a much more stable footing than a few years ago,' said Matthias Zachert, Lanxess chairman.

The company's engineering materials business had sales which fell 2.6% between Q2 2018 and Q2 2019. They reached EUR 382m in the Q1 2019 period. This compares with EUR 392m in the equivalent period last year.

At the same time, EBITDA in the division fell 11.0%. It reached EUR 65m in the first quarter of 2019. This compares with EUR 73m reached in the equivalent period last year.

This business is highly reliant on the automotive sector and suffered weaker demand in the first quarter. Weak demand outweighed the positive effects of an exchange rate movement in the company's favour and higher prices.