Lenzing, a major supplier of rayon fibers to sporting goods brands, said it was able to counter weak prices for its rayon and other cellulosic fibers by cutting costs in the first quarter. The Austrian company expects global cotton supplies will keep demand for and prices of its fiber suppressed in coming months.
Consolidated sales reached €496.5 million, a decline of 6.0 percent from the comparable figure of € 528.2 million in the prior-year quarter. However, this also includes the shift of about € 25 million from external to internal sales at the Paskov pulp plant. In a year-on-year comparison of total fiber sales, the selling price decline could almost be completely compensated by the higher fiber sales volumes in the first quarter of 2013.
Although consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in the first quarter of 2013 fell to €64.5 million (Q1 2012: € 93.1 million), the EBITDA margin at 13.0 percent (Q1 2012: 17.6 percent) was higher than expected, and was slightly above the guidance for the first quarter of 2013. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of the Lenzing Group declined by 46.1 percent to € 36.2 million (Q1 2012: € 67.2 million), comprising an EBIT margin of 7.3 percent in the first three months of the year (Q1 2012: 12.7 percent).
We counteracted the more difficult market conditions in a timely manner by implementing the cost optimization project excelLENZ, and already achieved the first cost improvements, said CEO Peter Untersperger. Moreover, we are strengthening our specialty strategy by putting the focus on our specialty fibers Lenzing Modal and Tencel. A further priority is the optimization of our cash management in the Lenzing Group by postponing maintenance investments for the time being which are not absolutely necessary.
In the first quarter of 2013, total fiber sales volumes amounted to about 216,000 tons, at about the same level as the fourth quarter of 2012 but approximately 13 percent higher than the prior-year quarter. This increase can be attributed to the new production capacities coming on stream in Indonesia and the USA. A fire took place at the Tencel fiber production site in Heiligenkreuz in March, which will likely result in a loss of production amounting to some 5,000 tons in 2013 as a whole.
The strategic expansion program of the Lenzing Group was implemented as planned in the first quarter of the year. Rapid progress is being made on construction of the large Tencel factory at the Lenzing site. The conversion of the Biocel Paskov pulp plant from a paper to a swing capacity paper and dissolving pulp plant is also proceeding on schedule. On balance, capital expenditure in the form of investments in property, plant and equipment and intangible assets totaled €56.5 million in the first quarter of 2013, above the prior-year level of €52.9 mn.
Outlook
Lenzing does not foresee global demand or prices for fibers to change in coming months as high cotton inventories as well as the cotton policy of China continue to suppress all fiber prices. A sideways movement is expected with respect to raw material prices, especially for pulp.
The guidance for EBITDA has been set at €65-70 million in the second quarter of 2013, even slightly above first quarter earnings. Lenzing confirmed its guidance for the entire financial year which was published in March 2013.
Key Group indicators (IFRS) (EUR mn) |
1-3/2013 |
1-3/2012 |
|---|
Consolidated sales |
496.5 |
528.2 |
EBITDA1 |
64.5 |
93.1 |
EBITDA margin1 in % |
13.0 |
17.6 |
Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT)1 |
36.2 |
67.2 |
EBIT margin1 in % |
7.3 |
12.7 |
Profit for the period |
20.9 |
48.4 |
CAPEX (investments in property, plant and equipment, intangible assets and non-controlling interest) |
56.5 |
52.3 |
|
31/03/2013 |
31/12/2012 |
|---|
Adjusted equity ratio2 in % |
45.1 |
43.8 |
Employees at period-end |
7,062 |
7,033 |
1) Before restructuring
2) Equity incl. government grants less prop. deferred taxes
Segment reporting3 (EUR mn) |
1-3/2013 |
1-3/2012 |
|---|
Segment Fibers
|
|
|
Sales |
447.1 |
474.4 |
EBITDA |
58.9 |
87.2 |
Segment Engineering
|
|
|
Sales |
35.3 |
30.0 |
EBITDA |
2.2 |
2.5 |
Segment Discontinued Operations
|
|
|
Sales |
26.3 |
32.5 |
EBITDA |
2.9 |
3.1 |
Segment Other |
|
|
Sales |
13.3 |
13,9 |
EBITDA |
0.6 |
0.9 |
3) The disposal of the Business Unit Plastics resulted in a restructuring of the Lenzing Groups segment reporting. Lenzing now reports on its Segment Fibers, which encompasses the internal business units Textile Fibers, Nonwoven Fibers, Pulp and Energy. The activities of Lenzing Technik are assigned to the Segment Engineering. The Segment Discontinued Operations includes the disposed of Business Unit Plastics as well as European Precursor (EPG), the terminated joint venture with SGL Carbon and Kelheim Fibres. The Segment Other mainly encompasses the activities of Dolan GmbH/Kelheim (synthetic fibers, part of the Segment Plastics Products up until now) as well as the educational and training center Bildungszentrum Lenzing (BZL).
