Lenzing Q3 revenues drop, reports loss

The increase in demand towards the end of the third quarter, primarily for wood-based specialty fibers such as Tencel Modal and Lenzing Ecovero, Lenzing said, had a positive impact on the revenue and earnings development, but was still below the level of the previous year. As a result, revenue declined by 26.1 percent to 1.19 billion euros in the first three quarters of 2020. The company said in a statement, EBITDA fell by 47.4 percent to 140.4 million euros, while the EBITDA margin decreased from 16.5 percent to 11.7 percent. Net loss for the period amounted to minus 2.8 million euros and earnings per share to minus 0.10 euros.

“Lenzing reacted quickly to the increased pressure on prices and volume caused by the Covid-19 crisis and consequently held its ground in this extremely difficult market environment due to a comprehensive set of measures. In the third quarter, we saw a broad recovery of the fiber market; in particular, demand for our sustainably produced specialty fibers increased significantly”, said Stefan Doboczky, CEO of the Lenzing Group.

From today’s perspective, the company added, the Lenzing Group assumes that the positive trend will continue in the fourth quarter and the revenue generation and operating performance in the fourth quarter will exceed those of the third quarter of 2020. However, if the number of infections should continue to rise and trigger lockdowns in more countries and regions in the coming weeks and months, this could have a negative impact on the revenue and earnings development of the group.

Picture:Lucie Maceczková for Lenzing