Lenzing AG has had a new boss, Rohit Aggarwal, since the beginning of September, and he still has a lot of work to do to get the fiber producer back on track. After three quarters, the result after tax was minus 111.1 million euros. The loss is therefore even greater than at the same time a year ago.
“The Lenzing Group continues its recovery journey. We continue to ensure strict cost management and focus on strengthening our global sales. At the same time, we are adapting our business organization to the changed market conditions,” says Rohit Aggarwal, CEO of the fiber optic company in Upper Austria since September.
Logistics costs increased
The general conditions for its launch are anything but simple: although fiber sales volumes are generally increasing again, the price for the products remains low, the market recovery is slow, energy and raw material costs are high and logistics have even become more expensive.
All this is also reflected in the company’s figures. After three quarters of 2024, turnover rose to 1.96 billion euros, and the operating result before depreciation also grew – to 263.7 million euros. At the same time, the result after tax was deep red, at minus 111.1 million euros. In 2023, this figure was minus 96.7 million euros.
Retired from the Austrian Tax Group
Lenzing AG explains the significantly deteriorated net result with a tax effect, which was significant here. Tax expenses in the first three quarters of the year amounted to 77.7 million euros, more than 60 million euros more than in the comparable period of 2023. Reason: Because B&C Holding Austria, as is known, has reduced its shareholding, the Austrian left according to a contract, B&C also had to pay 25.8 million euros in tax levies. In addition, individual companies in the group had to deal with value changes and currency effects because tax items had to be converted into other currencies.
With cost reduction on plan
Management is not impressed by this and sees the fiber optic giant on track, which is also due to a savings and optimization package put together last year. “The implementation of our performance program is currently well ahead of plan. We expect annual savings of more than 100 million euros. More than 50 percent of this will be effective from this financial year,” says CFO Nico Reiner.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
