From the Sector

The Lenzing Group has been awarded Platinum status in EcoVadis’ CSR rating. The assessment comprehensively covers the four main CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) practices: the environment, fair working conditions and human rights, as well as ethics and sustainable procurement.

In the previous three years, Lenzing had already received outstanding ratings in all categories, and was awarded Gold status in 2018, 2019 and 2020. “We are very proud to have now achieved the step up to the Platinum level after several Gold ratings in the past few years. At Lenzing, we always think beyond fibres and take responsibility for our children and grandchildren – for whom we do our best in order to constantly improve ourselves. This attitude forms part of our strategic principles and we will continue to work hard to make a sustainable contribution to the environment and to society”, notes Stefan Doboczky, CEO of the Lenzing Group.

The Lenzing Group’s ambitious climate targets form an essential part of its strategy and responsibility to future generations. In 2019, Lenzing became one of the world’s first fiber manufacturers to commit to reducing CO2 emissions per ton of product by 50 percent by 2030, and even becoming climate-neutral by 2050. The Science Based Targets Initiative, a recognised organisation in the area of climate-relevant target-setting, has scientifically validated Lenzing’s climate targets.

This scientific validation also forms one of the essential criteria that EcoVadis highlights in its rating. In addition, the responsible procurement of raw materials – according to social and ecological aspects – was also highlighted as a further core element in the company’s sustainability strategy, as well as support for external environmental initiatives (Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action) and initiatives on labour and human rights issues (Sustainable Apparel Coalition).

• CO₂ emissions will be reduced by 320,000 tons per year
• First supplier of wood-based cellulosic fibers in China to completely eliminate coal
• Share in eco-responsible specialty fibers will be significantly increased
• Lenzing is strategically well on track with these investments

The Lenzing Group, the leading global supplier of wood-based specialty fibers, will invest more than EUR 200 mn in its production sites in Purwakarta (Indonesia) and Nanjing (China) to convert existing standard viscose capacity into environmentally responsible specialty fibers.

In Nanjing (China) Lenzing will establish the first wood-based fiber complex in China that is independent from coal as an energy source. By using natural gas based cogeneration, Lenzing will reduce CO₂ emissions at the site by more than 200,000 tons. At the same time a line of standard viscose will be converted to a 35.000 tons TENCEL™ branded modal fibers line making Lenzing (Nanjing) Fibers Co., Ltd a 100 percent wood-based specialty fiber site by the end of 2022.

In Purwakarta (Indonesia), Lenzing will reduce its CO₂ emissions by increasingly using biogenic fuels. Additional investments to reduce emissions to air and water will make this facility fully compliant with the EU Ecolabel by the end of 2022. That will allow converting standard viscose capacity into LENZING™ ECOVERO™ branded fibers for textile applications as well as LENZING™ Viscose Eco fibers for personal care and hygiene applications. As a result, the site in Indonesia will also become a pure specialty viscose supplier as of 2023.

Both investments are fully in line with Lenzing’s target to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions per ton of product by 50 percent by 2030. By avoiding or reducing the use of fossil fuels at the two sites, the Lenzing Group will be able to reduce CO2 emissions by more than 320,000 tons in total, or 18 percent, compared to 2017. In addition, this investment allows Lenzing also to reduce its total sulfur emissions by more than 50 percent, compared to 2019.

Together with its major lyocell fiber project in Thailand, Lenzing will also boost its share in specialty fibers as a percentage of fiber revenues to well above the targeted 75 percent already by 2023, which in turn is an important step towards achieving the company’s EBITDA target of EUR 800 mn by 2024.

On Thursday, September 24, the Lenzing Group, a leading manufacturer of wood-based cellulose specialty fibers, and Hof University opened a new Nonwoven Development Center (VEZ). As a strategic partner, Lenzing has access to a state-of-the-art development line at the campus in Münchberg with immediate effect. This offers new opportunities for sustainable fiber and nonwoven innovations for a wide range of applications including hygiene, body care and medical.

In line with the sCore TEN corporate strategy, the Lenzing Group is focusing on sustainable innovations, which are agreed in an optimum manner to the needs of the value chain. „We offer our customers and partners a decisive competitive advantage: agility. The pilot plant in the VEZ allows the resource-efficient development of fiber and nonwoven innovations on a small scale”, Jürgen Eizinger, Vice President Business Unit Nonwovens at Lenzing, explains.

The VEZ was completed according to schedule in September 2020, after Lenzing and the University of Hof signed a cooperation agreement for its use in 2019. The timing is perfect. Developments at political level, such as the directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment, increase demand for responsibly manufactured nonwovens. The so-called Single-Use Plastics Directive aims at building awareness and greater transparency with regard to wet wipes and feminine hygiene products.

With its VEOCEL™ branded wood-based cellulose fibers, Lenzing has been laying the foundation for many years for sustainable nonwoven applications and will test and develop innovative ideas using the new possibilities offered by the VEZ. „We are noticing increasing interest in sustainable concepts from biodegradable cellulose fibers“, Jürgen Eizinger sums up the market development of the last months and adds: „We are aware that the fibers used have an enormous influence on the final product. For this reason our commitment goes beyond fiber production.“

With the spunlace pilot plant at the VEZ, Lenzing will support customers and partners more intensively in the development of new nonwoven applications and at the same time promote cooperation in the field of marketing. In the previous year, the company already established new certification standards for the VEOCEL™ brand. Since then certified manufacturers can only use the VEOCEL™ logo with blends of biodegradable cellulose fibers. With this measure, the VEOCEL™ brand allows consumers to make a more conscious product selection.

With its #ItsInOurHands environmental initiative, the VEOCEL™ brand also actively contributes to creating awareness. More detailed information can be obtained on itsinourhands.com.

• Decline in revenue due to volatile standard viscose prices and currencies
• Prices for key raw materials still high
• New production line in Heiligenkreuz in start-up phase
• Backward integration into dissolving wood pulp to be strengthened via joint venture in Brazil

Lenzing – The Lenzing Group generated solid results in a challenging market environment in the first half of 2018. The decline in revenue and earnings compared with the first half of the previous year, which was the best half-year in the company’s history, was based on a mix of volatile prices for standard viscose and price increases for key raw materials, coupled with currency effects. The Lenzing Group’s strategic orientation with a focus on specialty fibers had a positive impact in this environment and is increasingly bearing fruit. The corporate strategy sCore TEN is being implemented with great discipline in order to expand the company’s offering of specialty fibers and even more extensively support customers and business partners.

Revenue declined by 6.4 percent compared with the first half of the previous year to EUR 1,075.4 mn. This decrease is primarily attributable to less favorable currency exchange rates. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) decreased by 28.1 percent to EUR 194.8 mn, especially due to price increases for key raw materials and higher energy prices. The EBITDA margin fell from 23.6 percent in the first half of 2017 to 18.1 percent in the first half of 2018. EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) declined by 37 percent to EUR 128.7 mn, leading to a lower EBIT margin of 12 percent (H1 2017: 17.8 percent). The net profit for the period dropped by 39.3 percent from EUR 150.3 mn in the previous year to EUR 91.3 mn. Earnings per share equaled EUR 3.44 (H1 2017: EUR 5.55).

“So far, the financial year 2018 proved to be as challenging as expected, and market headwinds were clearly noticeable. In this market environment, we are satisfied with the solid results we report. We are proud that with our corporate strategy sCore TEN and the focus on growth with specialty fibers we show big steps in the right direction. The recently announced joint venture with Duratex is another important step in executing this corporate strategy,” says Stefan Doboczky, Chief Executive Officer of the Lenzing Group. “We will continue to implement our strategy with great discipline and are convinced that this will steadily improve the long-term profitability of Lenzing,” Doboczky adds.

Largest dissolving wood pulp line worldwide

In June, the Lenzing Group and Duratex, the largest producer of industrialized wood panels of the southern hemisphere, announced that they had agreed on the terms and conditions to form a joint venture to investigate building the largest dissolving wood pulp plant (single line concept) in the state of Minas Gerais, (Brazil). This decision supports the self-supply with dissolving wood pulp and the growth in specialty fibers, defined in Lenzing’s sCore TEN strategy. The joint venture will investigate the construction of a 450,000 t dissolving wood pulp plant, which is expected to become the largest and most competitive single line dissolving wood pulp plant in the world. The final investment decision to build the dissolving wood pulp plant is subject to the outcome of the basic engineering studies and the approval by the respective supervisory boards.

Even stronger focus on sustainable products

As a pioneer in sustainable fiber solutions, the Lenzing Group is committed to higher standards in the textile and nonwoven sectors. More than EUR 100 mn will be invested in sustainable manufacturing technologies and production facilities by 2022 in order to realize this vision. In line with the Group’s specialty strategy, another two milestones were set in the first half of 2018: Lenzing announced an investment of up to EUR 30 mn in another pilot line for the production of TENCEL™ Luxe filaments at the Lenzing site. In addition, the company also introduced the environmentally friendly process for the production of LENZING™ ECOVERO™ branded viscose fibers at its Chinese site. Both decisions contribute to better meeting the strong demand for environmentally compatible products.

Expansion of capacities

CAPEX (investments in intangible assets and property, plant and equipment) rose by 60.8 percent year-on-year to EUR 117.2 mn in the first half of 2018. This is primarily attributable to the capacity expansions in Heiligenkreuz (Austria) and Mobile, Alabama (USA) and the expansion of the existing dissolving wood pulp plant in Lenzing. The company is pressing ahead with these projects as well as with planning work on the construction of the next state-of-the-art lyocell production facility in Prachinburi (Thailand).

New brand identity

With the new positioning of its master brand and its product brands, the Lenzing Group started a new phase of branding and brand communication in the first half of 2018. Lenzing decided to carry out a new brand strategy in order to sharpen its company and product profile as a sustainable innovation leader for customers and partners along the value chain as well as for consumers. The most important pillar of this new brand strategy is a brand architecture with a focus on fewer brands and a strong message to consumers. With the TENCEL™ brand as an umbrella brand for all specialty products in the textile segment and the VEOCEL™ brand as the umbrella brand for all specialty fibers in the nonwoven segment as well as the new master brand, which was presented in March, Lenzing showcases its strengths in a targeted manner.

Outlook

The International Monetary Fund expects a further acceleration in global economic growth to 3.9 percent for 2018. However, growing protectionist tendencies in the political arena represent a source of uncertainty. Export-oriented companies in the Eurozone are faced with additional challenges from the currency environment.

Developments on the fiber markets should remain positive, but with continuing volatility. The rising demand for cotton should support prices despite the increase in production. Polyester fiber prices have stabilized after the increase in previous years.

The wood-based cellulosic fiber segment, which is relevant for Lenzing, should see further strong demand. After years of moderate capacity expansion in the viscose sector, significant additional volumes will enter the market in 2018 and 2019. As a result, standard viscose prices will remain under pressure. The Lenzing Group is very well positioned in this market environment with its corporate strategy sCore TEN and will continue its consistent focus on growth with specialty fibers.

The Lenzing Group still sees challenging market conditions for the second half of 2018. In addition to the price pressure on standard viscose, the prices of some key raw materials such as caustic soda are still at a very high level and exchange rates continue to be volatile. Our specialty fibers are expected to continue their very positive development. In this context, the Lenzing Group is satisfied with the earnings development to date, but underlines its estimate that the results for the year 2018 will be lower than the outstanding results in the last two years.