Tires, rubber buoy Conti in "difficult" first quarter

Hanover, Germany – Automotive supplier, tire maker, and ‘industrial partner’ Continental has posted a 3-percent rise in first-quarter sales in a “difficult” trading environment.

The sales rise to €9.85 billion was accompanied by an increase in earnings (adjusted EBIT) to €1.1 billion, as EBIT margins rose to 11.3 percent from the prior-year 10.6 percent.

Continental linked the gains mainly to the performance of its rubber-related businesses: volume growth in its tire division and the “stabilisation” of ContiTech’s industrial business.

“We expect the good development in the Rubber Group to continue over the remainder of the year, while the Automotive Group is expected to gain notable momentum again,” said group chairman Dr. Elmar Degenhart.

Overall, the Rubber Group achieved sales growth of more than 5 percent after adjustment for exchange-rate effects and changes in the scope of consolidation.

“We significantly increased our sales volumes for tires and other products in the field of rubber and plastics technology compared with the previous year,” Degenhart commented.

Continental will present its business figures for the first quarter of 2016 on 4 May.