• Sales on the prior-year level at EUR 1.781 billion
• EBITDA pre exceptionals down slightly year-on-year at EUR 267 million
• EBITDA margin pre exceptionals at 15.0 percent
• Forecast for full-year 2019 unchanged: EBITDA pre exceptionals of EUR 1.000 billion to EUR 1.050 billion

Germany: Specialty chemicals company LANXESS performed well again in the third quarter of 2019 – despite the further deterioration of the economic environment. As expected, earnings in the third quarter were only slightly weaker than in the previous year. At EUR 267 million, EBITDA pre exceptionals was 3.6 percent down on the prior year’s figure of EUR 277 million.

Earnings were negatively impacted in particular by lower demand from the automotive industry and the weak chrome ore business. However, this was almost offset by the company’s stable portfolio and advantageous exchange-rate effects, especially from the strong U.S. dollar. The EBITDA margin came in at 15.0 percent, against 15.5 percent in the prior-year quarter.

“Our stable position has once again proven its value, enabling us to remain on track in these turbulent times. Although the environment is still challenging, we are now optimistically embarking on our final spurt for the year,” says Matthias Zachert, Chairman of the Board of Management of LANXESS AG.

LANXESS expects its EBITDA pre exceptionals in the fourth quarter to be slightly better than in the previous year. For the full year 2019, the specialty chemicals company expects its EBITDA pre exceptionals to be between EUR 1.000 billion and EUR 1.050 billion (previous year: EUR 1.016 billion).

Group sales in the third quarter of 2019 amounted to EUR 1.781 billion, on a par with the previous year’s level. Net income declined by 13.8 percent from EUR 80 million to EUR 69 million, mainly due to higher depreciation. Earnings per share decreased less significantly by 10.2 percent – from EUR 0.88 to EUR 0.79 – due to the lower average number of shares outstanding after the share buyback program.

Performance Chemicals Business
The Performance Chemicals segment also performed better than in the prior-year quarter. As in the previous quarters, the business units with water-treatment and material-protection products posted strong growth. There were also positive exchange-rate effects. Weak chrome ore business in the Leather business unit continued to have a negative impact. Sales rose by 6.0 percent from EUR 334 million to EUR 354 million. At EUR 56 million, EBITDA pre exceptionals was 5.7 percent above the figure for the prior-year quarter (EUR 53 million). The EBITDA margin pre exceptionals remained stable at 15.8 percent.

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 7.2 billion in 2018. The company currently has about 15,400 employees in 33 countries and is represented at 60 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing, and marketing of chemical intermediates, additives, specialty chemicals, and plastics. LANXESS is listed in the leading sustainability indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI World and Europe) and FTSE4Good.

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