Semperit forecasts "significant" earnings gains for 2020

Vienna –  Semperit’s annual result for 2020 is expected to be significantly higher than of the previous year, the Austrian rubber group said 3 July

Earnings (EBIT), it said, are expected to come in at €110-160 million for the full year 2020, compared to a loss of €16.5 million in 2019.

The forecast, however, depends on “the further development of the price level for medical protective gloves and the sufficient availability of raw materials for their production.”

The upbeat forecast is despite the current impact of global recession of the group's industrial unit, which, noted Semperit, has intensified in recent months due to the worldwide lockdown. 

“The results of the Industrial Sector of the current financial year will, therefore, be noticeably below the previous year’s level,” said the group statement. 

Semperit also indicated that its half-year fiscal report would include adjustments for “reversals of past impairment losses or impairment losses” in both business sectors. 

According to Semperit, its medical protective gloves has seen significant growth in demand and a strong rise in pricing since the outbreak of the corona crisis.

However, Semperit emphasised that its decision of 28 Jan to focus on its industrial rubber business in the future and separate from the medical business “is still valid.”

“The emerging effects of the global pandemic are considered to be limitedly sustainable,” the group explained.