LENZING – In the first half of the year, the Lenzing Group reported a 4.8 per cent increase in revenue, reaching €1.31bn, driven by a 9.3 per cent rise in revenue from its fibre segment. The company has also revealed that Rohit Aggarwal will succeed Stephan Sielaff as CEO at the end of March 2025.
“The Lenzing Group’s business performance continues to improve, even without a significant recovery in our key markets. We are proactively taking measures to make the Lenzing Group not only more profitable but also more resilient in the medium term,” said Stephan Sielaff, CEO of Lenzing Group.
During the period, Lenzing’s EBITDA increased by 20.4 per cent to €164.4m, with the EBITDA margin rising from 10.9 to 12.5 per cent. The operating result improved to €18.9m, and the EBIT margin increased to 1.4 per cent.
Despite these gains, the company reported a pre-tax loss of €22.3m, and earnings per share were negative, at €1.84.
Following the robust first-half performance, Lenzing has reaffirmed its EBITDA guidance for the 2024 financial year.
On April 11, Lenzing’s managing board decided to indefinitely suspend its existing dividend policy of at least €4.50 per share.
Additionally, the company announced on June 12 that Suzano would acquire a 15 per cent stake in Lenzing from B&C.
Lenzing also announced changes to its managing board. Walter Bickel has been appointed as a member of the managing board and chief transformation officer, effective April 15, 2024, and will serve until December 31, 2025.
The company said Stephan Sielaff, the current CEO, will leave when his contract expires at the end of March 2025 to pursue new opportunities. Rohit Aggarwal, who has been appointed as a new managing board member, will assume responsibility for the fibres business area in the third quarter and will succeed Sielaff as CEO after his onboarding.
