Lanxess Reports Challenging Third Quarter Amid Weak Global Demand and Geopolitical Uncertainty

Lanxess, the specialty chemicals company, faced a challenging third quarter in 2025, with sales reaching €1.338 billion, down 16.3% from €1.598 billion in the same period last year. EBITDA for the continuing operations fell to €125 million, a 27.7% decline, mainly driven by weakened overall demand, the divestiture of the polyurethane systems business, and adverse currency effects.

The EBITDA margin for continuing operations dropped to 9.3%, compared to 10.8% last year. Lanxess CEO Matthias Zachert highlighted that global demand remains weak, particularly in the construction, automotive, and agrochemical sectors, and he anticipates that the difficult market conditions will continue into next year. He emphasized that the company is focusing on cost reduction, process and structure simplification, and market optimization, while urging political support from Berlin and Brussels to strengthen the competitiveness of the chemical industry.

Lanxess has revised its full-year guidance, expecting EBITDA for continuing operations to remain at a low level of €520–580 million.

The company continues its cost-cutting initiatives through the "FORWARD!" program, launched in 2023, targeting €150 million in annual permanent savings by the end of 2025. Additional optimization measures announced in August are expected to save €50 million per year by 2027, with further cost-saving potential of approximately €100 million to be detailed in Q1 2026.

Despite the challenging environment, Lanxess has maintained stable net debt, which stood at €2.072 billion at the end of Q3, nearly unchanged from Q2.

Breaking down performance by segments, the Consumer Protection business saw sales decline by 13.1% to €453 million, while EBITDA slightly increased to €72 million, supported by cost savings from the FORWARD! program, lifting the EBITDA margin to 15.9% from 13.6% last year.

The Specialty Additives segment posted €505 million in sales, down 8.2%, with EBITDA dropping 26.2% to €45 million due to soft demand and lower capacity utilization, resulting in a margin decline to 8.9%.

The High-Performance Intermediates segment experienced a 17.1% drop in sales to €377 million and a 61.8% decline in EBITDA to €26 million, reflecting weakened demand, persistent pricing pressure in Asia, and underutilized capacity, reducing the EBITDA margin to 6.9% from 14.9% a year earlier.