Lanxess misses 2025 sales estimates, plans further job cuts in Germany

By Ozan Ergenay

March 19 (Reuters) - Speciality chemicals maker Lanxess LXSG.DE on Thursday reported annual sales below market expectations and said it did not expect business to improve before the second half of 2026 at the earliest.

The German chemical sector, the country's third-largest, has been struggling for years with subdued demand, high energy costs, supply chain issues and an economic slowdown.

Lanxess' annual revenue fell 10.9% to 5.67 billion euros ($6.50 billion), missing analysts' average estimate of 5.72 billion in a company-provided poll.

Shares of the Cologne-based group, down 24% since the start of the year, fell 3.3% in early Frankfurt trade.

Chemical companies have been hit the hardest by the Iran war, as the Middle East is an essential region for them, producing a lot of raw materials for the industry. The widening war has disrupted supply chains, pushed up energy prices and sparked fears of rising inflation and weakening consumer demand.

"We control the things we can control, that means continuing to cut costs, streamline processes and create new market opportunities," Lanxess CEO Matthias Zachert said in a statement.

The company launched additional cost-cutting measures for 2026, aimed at generating permanent annual savings of around 100 million euros by the end of 2028. As part of that, it plans to cut 550 jobs, about two-thirds of which will be in Germany.

Zachert said the market environment remained weak last year, both for Lanxess and the broader industry, and was characterised by high levels of geopolitical uncertainty.

"For 2026, we expect to see positive momentum in the second half of the year at the earliest, for example through the German government's infrastructure stimulus program," he said.

Lanxess forecast earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) pre-exceptionals of 450-550 million euros for 2026, compared with 510 million euros last year.

Both last year's number and this year's outlook were broadly in line with market estimates.

($1 = 0.8724 euros)