Continental profits, sales up in 2012
ERJ staff report (LMH)
Hanover, Germany – Continental Corp. has reported profit of almost Euro 1.9 billion on sales of Euro 32.7 billion in 2012, despite what it called a difficult market environment.
The automotive supplier said it aims to boost sales 5 percent to more than Euro 34 billion in 2013.
In 2012, Continental’s profits improved by more than 50 percent and earnings per share reached Euro 9.42, CEO Dr Elmar Degenhart said in a 7 March news release. He added that the company has cut its net indebtedness by close to Euro 1.5 billion “bringing it down to reasonable level” of Euro 5.3 billion.
Sales grew by 7.3 percent in 2012 to Euro 32.7 billion. Earnings (EBIT) grew by 18.3 percent to almost Euro 3.1 billion and the earnings margin was 9.4 percent, up from 8.5 percent in fiscal 2011.
The company said its positive performance was also reflected in its workforce, which increased by 5852 to a total of 170 000 employees as of the end of 2012.
In 2012, Continental spent more than Euro 1.7 billion on research and development, an increase of 10 percent on the previous year’s figure. Degenhart noted that in the automotive group alone, Continental spent nearly 8 percent of sales on R&D, “allowing us to top the industry average.” The company intends to maintain this level in 2013.
This is an external link and should open in a new window. If the window does not appear, please check your pop-up blocking software. ERJ is not responsible for the content of external sites.
News release from Continental
This article is only available to subscribers - subscribe today
Subscribe for unlimited access. A subscription to European Rubber Journal includes:
- Every issue of European Rubber Journal (6 issues) including Special Reports & Maps.
- Unlimited access to ERJ articles online
- Daily email newsletter – the latest news direct to your inbox
- Access to the ERJ online archive