Covestro’s first-quarter (Q1) earnings and sales rose healthily year on year but the German chemicals major has reduced its full-year outlook on the back of lower global GDP growth expected and China’s stringent lockdown measures, said the company.
Covestro said late on Monday, following stock markets’ closure in Europe, that it was lowering its EBITDA outlook for 2022 by EUR500m. “This is a consequence of the ongoing COVID 19-lockdown in China, particularly around the Shanghai region, further significantly increasing energy and raw material costs and an assumed lower-than-expected global economic growth,” said Covestro.
For the second quarter, for example, the producer said it expected EBITDA to come in between EUR430-530m, a sharp slowdown from Q1’s EUR806m. Expectations for free operating cash flow (FOCF) were also sharply reduced.
Chemical equity analysts at Germany’s Baader Bank said on Tuesday Covestro’s share price was likely to take a hit this week but “part of the reduced guidance might be already” included in the share price, which has underperformed peers as of late. Covestro's stock opened trading on Tuesday down nearly 6%, compared with Monday's close, at EUR39.00/share.
“Reduced 2022 guidance [for EBITDA and FOCF] comes as a negative surprise and indicates 17% on 2022 EBITDA and 40% on 2022 FOCF downward revision needed if the midpoint of the guidance is taken,” said the Baader analysts. “According to Covestro, the Chinese lockdowns have at the beginning not impacted local production and ‘only’ the logistics but, while the storage capacities of Covestro are filled, there is not just a delaying effect of the delivery as a result, but also a reduced production in China as a consequence."
As per MRC, Covestro is expanding its production capacities for thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) Films in the Platilon range, as well as the associated infrastructure and logistics and schedules to complete the new facilities as early as the end of 2023.
We remind that Covestro closed the sale of its European polycarbonates (PC) sheets business to the Munich-based Serafin Group effective January 2, 2020. This includes key management and sales functions throughout Europe as well as production sites in Belgium and Italy.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall consumption of PC granules (excluding exports from Belarus) totalled 7,800 tonnes in January 2022, down by 4% year on year (8,100 tonnes a year earlier).
Covestro (formerly Bayer MaterialScience) is an independent subgroup within Bayer. It was created as part of the restructuring of Bayer AG from the former business group Bayer Polymers, with certain of its activities being spun off to Lanxess AG. Covestro manufactures and develops materials such as coatings, adhesives and sealants, polycarbonates (CDs, DVDs), polyurethanes (automotive seating, insulation for refrigerating appliances) etc. With 2021 sales of EUR 15.9 billion, Covestro has 50 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 17,900 people (calculated as full-time equivalents).
mrchub.com