The Lenzing Group has reported a net profit of EUR 229.1 million in the 2016 financial year, a rise of 78.9% from the prior-year figure of EUR 128.1 million. The decisive factors underlying the company’s success were the higher selling prices Lenzing obtained for all its fibre products, a better product mix, as well as the slight rise in revenue, the company reports.

Consolidated revenue grew by 8% in the 2016 financial year to EUR 2.13 billion. EBITDA improved by 47.6% to EUR 428.3 million. The corresponding EBITDA margin rose to 20.1%, up from 14.7% in the 2015 financial year. EBIT of the Lenzing Group almost doubled – with an increase from EUR 151.1 million to EUR 296.3 million. The EBIT margin improved to 13.9%.

Successful financial year

“The Lenzing Group looks back at a very successful financial year 2016. Our new corporate strategy sCore TEN has clearly proven its value. In a very positive market environment for wood-based cellulose fibres we successfully expanded our market position in specialty fibres. Furthermore, we optimized our production processes, which also contributed to the better earnings and enhanced our financial strength,” commented Stefan Doboczky, Chief Executive Officer of the Lenzing Group.

“We will continue our disciplined implementation of sCore TEN and put particular focus on the expansion of our specialty fibre capacities and on sustainability-driven innovation. We look positively at the year 2017 and expect a considerable earnings improvement once again provided there is no significant change in the business environment.”

Share of specialty fibres goes up

Total fibre sales volumes in 2016 rose by 1.4% to about 978,000 tonnes. The share of specialty fibres as a percentage of total group revenue increased to 42% compared to the prior-year figure of 40.5%. The share of standard fibres in relation to revenue was unchanged at 47%, with other business areas accounting for the remaining revenue. 71% of fibre revenue was generated in the textile fibre business and 29% was derived from nonwoven applications.

2016 was also a year of substantial capital commitments. In total Lenzing committed EUR 475 million to further expand its specialty fibre capacities in Europe and the US, as well as to debottleneck the dissolving wood pulp operations in Paskov, Czech Republic, and Lenzing, Austria.

Lenzing increased its revenue from specialty fibres for garments, as a result of the increased integration of Tencel fibres in high quality applications. One future-oriented example is the Refibra fibre presented in 2016. In addition to wood, this new generation of lyocell fibres uses recycled scraps from the textile industry as the basic raw material. The first garments made with Refibra fibres were brought to market by Zara, a subsidiary of Inditex.

Outlook

In 2017 the Lenzing Group will continue to focus on the disciplined implementation of its sCore TEN strategy and, specifically, on specialisation and sustainability-driven innovation. “The steady expansion of the specialty fibre capacities and the intensification of its brand management will be essential to increasing customers’ awareness for the unique selling proposition of Lenzing’s fibre products,” the company explains.

The Lenzing Group registered strong demand for its fibres during the first weeks of 2017, which, in turn, led to continued high capacity utilization in all product groups. The market price index for viscose fibres was substantially higher than in the comparable prior year period. 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.

www.lenzing.com