Continental reports 1.2 billion Euro net loss in 2019, announces cost-cutting plan

Continental said it would step up cost savings after posting a 1.2 billion-euro net loss in 2019

Cost-cut plans will be presented in May because worldwide car production was now expected to fall for the third year in row, by between 2 percent to 5 percent, CEO Elmar Degenhart said in a statement on Thursday. The CEO also said that forced redundancies may be necessary.

Continental announced non-cash goodwill writedowns of 2.5 billion euros and said it expected to deliver and adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) margin of 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent this year, Automotive News reads.

Continental reported an almost flat full-year revenue at 44.5 billion euros, slightly below a 44.55 billion euros estimate based on Refinitiv data.

Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) was down 22 percent to 3.2 billion euros in 2019.

Degenhart said potential supply chain disruptions, caused by coronavirus travel restrictions, had been avoided by switching from shipping parts to using air freight.

Production and logistics were expected to normalize in the second quarter of the year, he said.