Group sales of 10.0 billion euros
Continental reported that it closed the second quarter of 2024 as expected and achieved better results in all divisions than in the previous quarter. The company also recorded an improvement compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
Nikolai Setzer, CEO of Continental, explains: "We have made significant progress in Automotive and aim to improve even further in the following quarters. Tires achieved a good result. ContiTech also developed positively despite a persistently weak industrial environment." In the current challenging market environment, these improvements in earnings are due in particular to the measures taken by Continental in the divisions.
Continental thus achieved consolidated sales of €10.0 billion in the first half of this year. The adjusted operating result rose by 40.6 percent year-on-year to 704 million euros. This corresponds to an adjusted EBIT margin of 7.0 percent.
Automotive
In the second quarter, turnover in the Automotive division fell by 3.4% to 5.0 billion euros. Nevertheless, the EBIT margin increased to 2.7 percent thanks to successful price negotiations, cost reductions and efficiency measures. Continental expects these positive effects to increase in the second half of the year.
Global automotive production in Europe fell by 6 percent in the second quarter compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, Continental received a major order worth 2 billion euros for a display. The total order volume in the automotive sector amounted to 5.9 billion euros in the second quarter.
Tires
The Tires division achieved sales of 3.4 billion euros, 1.7% less than in the previous year. The EBIT margin rose to 14.7 percent thanks to a strong tire replacement business in Europe.
In Portugal, Continental has been producing tires in a CO2-neutral way since this year, supported by an electrically powered steam boiler and solar power. The plant has a capacity of 18 million tires per year. Continental plans to operate all tire plants CO2-neutrally by 2040.
ContiTech
The ContiTech division achieved sales of €1.6 billion, which corresponds to a decline of 5.5% compared to the previous year. However, the EBIT margin rose to 7.1% thanks to strict cost discipline and successful price negotiations in the automotive sector.
ContiTech also received a major order worth around 40 million euros for the world's strongest conveyor belt.
Forecast for the remainder of 2024
Continental estimates consolidated sales of between €40.0 billion and €42.5 billion for 2024. The EBIT margin is expected to remain constant.
Sales of 19.5 to 21.0 billion euros are expected for Automotive. Sales of 13.5 to 14.5 billion euros are estimated for Tires. ContiTech anticipates sales of 6.6 to 7.0 billion euros.