EBIT increased by 57.4 per cent to €204.2 million, resulting in a higher EBIT margin of 17.8 per cent (H12016:12.5 per cent). The profit for the period improved by 58.9 per cent to €150.3 million, and earnings per share climbed 59 per cent to €5.55 per share.
"The first half-year developed very well for the Lenzing Group, and we are pleased with the best half-year period in the company’s history. We will continue our disciplined implementation of the sCore TEN strategy. The expansion of new state-of-the-art production capacities for our specialty fibres is proceeding well and will support our customers in their own expansion efforts for products made of our botanic fibres. The decision to set up a subsidiary and acquire a respective land plot in Thailand is the next step in the implementation of this strategy," said Stefan Doboczky, chief executive officer of Lenzing Group.
"On the innovation side we are proud that after the introduction of Refibra branded lyocell fibres, we now launched EcoVero. This is a particularly high-performance fibre featuring a very favorable ecological footprint and sets the new benchmark for the entire industry – from fibre to garment," added Doboczky.
Furthermore, the Lenzing Group opened up new sales and marketing offices in Turkey and Korea in the first half of 2017.
The Lenzing Group aims to increase the share of specialty fibres as a percentage of revenue to 50 per cent by 2020. The demand for these cellulose fibres was very good in the first half year of 2017, with the long-term trend pointing towards further growth in viscose and, above all, wood-based cellulose specialty fibres. On the supply side, the market is not expected to see the entry of any notable new production capacity in 2017. Under the assumption of unchanged conditions in the fibre market and stable exchange rates, Lenzing expects a considerable improvement in results in the fiscal year 2017 compared to 2016. (RR)
Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India