Swiss EMS Chemie posts 11% drop in Q1 sales on stronger Swiss franc

Ems Chemie Holding AG

25/04/2024 07:30

April 25 (Reuters) - Swiss nylon manufacturer EMS Chemie
 EMSN.S  reported a double-digit drop in first-quarter net sales
as the Swiss franc's strengthening curtailed net sales
development, it said on Thursday, while confirming its 2024
forecast. 
    The Group's Q1 net sales decreased 11.3% year-on-year to 545
million Swiss Franc ($596.21 million), in line with two
analysts' predictions that had projected a yearly drop in the
range of 11.0-11.5%.
    "As expected, the global economy remained subdued in the
first quarter of 2024," EMS Chemie said in a statement.
    The company's primary business unit High Performance
Polymers reported an 11% fall in net sales to 493 million Swiss
francs.
    Its Specialty Chemicals unit, a smaller segment that
contributes around 10% to total revenue, experienced a more
significant 13.5% year-on-year decline, with sales reaching 52
million Swiss francs.
    EMS Chemie confirmed its 2024 outlook, which forecast net
sales to remain consistent with the 2023 figure of 2.19 billion
Swiss francs. It also sees earnings before interest and taxes
(EBIT) to be slightly higher than the 2023 level of 493 million
euros.
    The company said it "expects the economic environment to
remain challenging", highlighting that delays in interest rate
cuts and geopolitical conflicts could weaken demand.

($1 = 0.9141 Swiss francs)

 (Reporting by Alberto Chiumento; Editing by Janane Venkatraman
)
 ((Alberto.chiumento@thomsonreuters.com))