Continental AG has decided to publish its expectations for business development in a fiscal year in terms of ranges, in accordance with industry custom. The increasingly volatile market conditions and profound technological changes in the automotive industry make it ever more difficult to precisely forecast the business development over a one-year period.
Based on current market expectations for the current fiscal year, Continental expects consolidated sales in the range of approximately €45 to €47 billion and an adjusted EBIT margin in the range of approximately 8% to 9%.
In comparison, according to preliminary key data, fiscal 2018 sales were around €44.4 billion and the fiscal 2018 adjusted EBIT margin was around 9.2%. With average analyst estimates for the current fiscal year’s adjusted EBIT margin at approximately the same level as the preliminary adjusted EBIT margin for 2018, substantial parts of the expected adjusted EBIT margin range for the current fiscal year therefore lie below analyst expectations.
Continental will release its full outlook for the current fiscal year as well as preliminary 2018 business figures on March 7, 2019, as part of its annual financial press conference to be broadcasted online.