Lenzing sees hope on horizon after subdued months
Fibre producer Lenzing has spoken of “subdued market trends” in the first half of 2023 as it reported revenues of €1.25 billion, down 3.4% on the same period last year.
However, it noted while the market environment deteriorated significantly in the second half of 2022, signs of recovery were evident during the first and second quarters of 2023 in terms of raw material and energy costs as well as demand.
Textile fibres recorded improving demand, and business with nonwoven fibres and with dissolving wood pulp proved to be stable.
Stephan Sielaff, Lenzing Group CEO, said: “Lenzing is on a recovery track, as a comparison with the previous quarter in particular shows, even though the current market environment continues to weigh on consumer sentiment and thereby on the order situation in many industries.
“We proactively implemented optimization measures on the cost and liquidity side as well as on the sales side at an early stage, which are having an increasingly positive impact.
“Overall, we remain cautiously optimistic, although visibility remains limited, especially in the textile segment. In the medium and long term, we continue to expect strong growth in demand for sustainable products from Lenzing.”
Since 2021, Lenzing has invested €200 million in production sites in China and in Indonesia to convert existing capacities for generic viscose into capacities for specialty fibres. In Nanjing (China), the conversion of a production line to Tencel modal fibres was successfully completed in the first half.
As part of the investments at the site in Purwakarta (Indonesia), Lenzing is creating additional capacity for Ecovero fibres. The site is expected to be converted into a pure specialty viscose supplier before the end of this year.
