In the third quarter of 2019, Covestro has achieved core volume growth of 5.3 per cent over the prior-year period, despite the challenging economic environment.
Meanwhile, Group sales declined as expected by 14.6 per cent to €3.2 billion, due to continued lower selling prices.
At €425 million, EBITDA forecast was achieved for the quarter but was down 50.5 per cent from the prior-year quarter as a result of negative price effects.
Net income fell to €147 million, down 70.4 per cent, and free operating cash flow was at €243 million, down 58 per cent, due to reduced cash flows from operating activities as well as scheduled investments.
Markus Steilemann, CEO of Covestro, said: “After generating solid volume growth in the second quarter, demand once again grew in the third quarter. The economic climate remains challenging, which we notice particularly in the automotive sector.”
“However, our volume growth indicates that our business is well diversified across various industries.”
CFO Thomas Toepfer said: “We remain confident we will reach that targets we have for the fiscal year.”
“Margins were unusually high in the prior-year quarter, which is why the year-on-year decline in sales and earnings is in line with our expectations.”