Specialty chemicals company LANXESS performed well again in the third quarter of 2019 – despite further deterioration of the economic environment. As expected, earnings in the third quarter were only slightly weaker than in the previous year. At Euro 267 million, EBITDA pre exceptionals was 3.6 percent down on the prior year’s figure of Euro 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 Euro 1.000 billion and Euro 1.050 billion (previous year: EURO 1.016 billion).
   Group sales in the third quarter of 2019 amounted to Euro 1.781 billion, on a par with the previous year’s level. Net income declined by 13.8 percent from Euro 80 million to Euro 69 million, mainly due to higher depreciation. Earnings per share decreased less significantly by 10.2 percent – from Euro 0.88 to Euro 0.79 – due to the lower average number of shares outstanding after the share buyback program.