Semperit hit by €50m medical unit impairment loss

Vienna – Semperit AG has reported a negative €35 million earnings after tax for the first nine months of 2019, due mainly to a decline at its Sempermed medical sector.

Having previously warned of a potential impairment loss at Sempermed, the group quantified this at just under €50 million, in an announcement issued 17 Dec.

The figure will bring Semperit’s annual results into negative territory, according to the Austrian rubber products manufacturer.  

In November, Semperit delayed the publication of its interim third quarter report due to trading issues at Sempermed, which produces latex gloves.

The unit’s competitive position within the medical market had “deteriorated significantly” in recent months, the group said in a 21 Nov quarterly report.

Over the first nine months of the year, Sempermed’s sales were down 4.9% year-on-year to €237.5 million, the third quarter report added. 

Semperit linked the lower sales to a “strategic change in production portfolio”, with a shift of focus on nitrile rubbers, as well as to "reduced outsourcing."

The group is now examining strategic options for the unit, according to Martin Füllenbach, chairman of Semperit.

Group-wide, however, Semperit notched up a 23.1% year-on-year increase in EBITDA for the first three quarters of the year to €56.4 million.

With sales coming in 2.7% lower at €652.2 million, margins picked up from 6.8% in the prior-year period to 8.6%.