HANOVER, Germany — Continental A.G.'s Rubber Technologies business reported a 5% drop in sales for the quarter ended Sept. 30, which — while not stellar — is a drastic improvement over the second quarter's 33% drop.
Sales fell to $5.06 billion for the quarter, while pre-tax operating income was off nearly 56% to $289.3 million, or 2.4% of sales, Conti said in a preliminary earnings report.
The company noted in the report that the sales drop before changes in the scope of consolidation and exchange-rate effects was 1.4%, but it did not elaborate on what the changes entail.
For the nine months ended Sept. 30, the business unit's operating income was off 63.4% from the 2019 period at $516.4 million, while revenue dropped 16.9% to 13.2 billion.
Conti at this time did not report tire versus non-tire rubber group results.
Conti as a whole reported higher operating income for the quarter on 7.3% lower sales.
Conti said its third quarter results are above current average analyst expectations, but earnings impairments and restructuring expenses will result in operating and net losses when the consolidated results are reported
The Hanover-based company recently disclosed a plan to cut at least 30,000 jobs worldwide as part of a larger global restructuring program that's tied to the "deepening economic crisis" caused by the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on auto parts sales.
The company's program includes plans to close at tire factory in Aachen, Germany, by year-end 2021, eliminating the jobs of 1,800 of the 2,000 employees there.
