Evonik hikes 2021 guidance but quarterly beat lags peers
Reuters
Published Aug 05, 2021 06:28AM ET
By Bartosz Dabrowski
(Reuters) - Germany's Evonik Industries raised its outlook after beating second-quarter earnings forecasts on Thursday but its shares fell as analysts pointed to bigger gains at rival chemical makers.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) adjusted for one-offs rose 42% to 649 billion euros, topping the 633 million forecast in a company-provided poll.
"Evonik's second-quarter beat was less than at other EU chemicals," Baader Helvea analyst Markus Meyer said, but added that the company's defensive portfolio meant its earnings declined less during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Due to increased raw material prices, the profit margin in the past quarter fell short of expectations," a local trader said.
Evonik shares fell 2.7% as of 0945 GMT.
The company raised its 2021 EBITDA outlook to 2.3-2.4 billion euros ($2.7-2.8 billion) from 2.1-2.3 billion euros.
In July, Dutch peer DSM and German competitor BASF raised their 2021 forecasts backed by strong sales and demand from industrial customers.
Evonik, whose materials are used in products ranging from animal feed to Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, is in the middle of a strategic shift towards higher margin specialty chemicals that has helped it ride out the pandemic.
It said its second-quarter earnings were driven by a post-lockdown rebound in the construction, consumer goods and automotive industries, helped by improved pricing in animal nutrition and steady growth in the healthcare business.
Evonik shares are up 8.5% this year, outperforming German peers such as Lanxess and BASF but lagging Dutch rival DSM.
($1=0.8450 euros)
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.