After a weak first quarter in 2024, Continental expects earnings to improve as the year progresses – particularly in the second half of the year. Based on this, the DAX company is confirming its full-year outlook, as already announced together with the publication of its key figures for the first quarter on April 16, 2024. Overall, Continental still anticipates consolidated sales for 2024 of around €41.0 billion to €44.0 billion and an adjusted EBIT margin of around 6.0 to 7.0 percent.
“We are pursuing our goals resolutely and sustainably. We are on track with the implementation of our measures to achieve our mid-term targets. And in 2024 we will be taking a another step forward. The first quarter will be our weakest this year. As the year progresses, we will see improvements across the three group sectors Automotive, Tires and ContiTech,” Continental CEO Nikolai Setzer said in Hanover, Germany, on Wednesday.
The Tires group sector generated sales of €3.3 billion (Q1 2023: €3.5 billion, -5.0 percent). At 11.7 percent, its adjusted EBIT margin was still in the double digits, albeit down on the first quarter of the previous year (Q1 2023: 13.4 percent). The main reasons were weak tire markets in the truck and original equipment business, negative exchange-rate effects and fewer workdays in March. This, in turn, shifted the tire-replacement business to April, which already appears to be a considerably stronger month for earnings. In the months ahead, the Tires group sector will also benefit from an expected increase in demand.
