Continental has recorded first-quarter net income down 49.2% to EUR292.3m (US$316m.2m).
Sales amounted to EUR9.8bn (Q1 2019: EUR11bn), or 10.9% lower than in the previous year.
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The second quarter is expected to be the weakest of the current fiscal year for Continental with regards to sales and earnings, as this is when the impact of the coronavirus pandemic will really be felt in Europe and America.
“We will feel the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic even more strongly in the second quarter,” said Continental CEO, Elmar Degenhart.
“Usually, we generate three-quarters of our sales in Europe and North America. But both regions have been hit hard by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic since the end of March, while automotive production in China is stabilising again.”
Degenhart underscored Continental’s intention to further balance out its revenues and to increase proportion of its consolidated sales generated in Asia to 30% in the medium term.
As Continental announced at the end of April, timing for a more detailed outlook for 2020 currently cannot be determined as the situation remains dynamic.
For the year as a whole, however, the supplier is expecting sales and earnings to fall significantly short of the previous year’s figures.
