Conti reports ‘robust’ rubber performance 

Hanover, Germany – Continental AG’s Rubber Technologies group, which includes its Tires and ContiTech segments, has reported a strong third quarter helped by growing demand for replacement tires.

The group sector’s earnings (EBITDA) for the three months to end of September rose 16% to €743 million, on 1.2% higher sales of €4.4 billion, Conti announced 10 Nov.

Year-to-date earnings jumped 60% to €2.5 billion as sales grew 15% to just under €13 billion.

Nine-month sales of Tires rose to €8.6 billion, from €7.3 billion reported last year, while earnings grew 74% to €2 billion. 

ContiTech’s earnings increased 25.5% to €541 million, on 10% higher sales of €4.4 billion during the first nine months of the year.

Conti linked the robust third-quarter performance primarily to the strong replacement-tire business for trucks and passenger cars and the industrial product business of ContiTech.

In particular, ContiTech boosted its sales of products for off-highway applications, surface materials for industrial use and window and pool films for home and garden. 

In addition, sales volume of drive belts increased in the industrial retail market and the automotive replacement market. 

Commenting on the results, CEO Nikolai Setzer said the rubber group registered strong earnings, despite "the mounting burdens associated with rising raw material prices and energy and logistics costs.”

According to the German group, rising raw material costs are having "an increasingly detrimental impact" on the business, which incurred an additional €225 million of costs compared to last year.

“The global markets will remain highly volatile in the coming months,” said Wolfgang Schäfer, chief financial officer. 

The group, he went on to say, expects further negative effects from cost inflation for key inputs such as raw materials for its Rubber Technologies group as well as energy and logistics costs.