From the Sector

Archroma, a global leader in color and specialty chemicals, recently entered in a partnership with Carlin, the world’s very first trend forecasting agency founded in 1947, aiming to promote the use of Archroma’s exclusive color inspiration tools to fashion designers and stylists in France.

Under the terms of the new partnership, Carlin will use the ‘Color Atlas by Archroma®’ color references in the Carlin’s 16 publications per year, including the InMouv trend books. Carlin will also use the Color Atlas during its color workshops, and Carlin and Archroma will organize regular conferences and events for fashion brands in major French cities, including Paris.
The partnership agreement also appoints Carlin as Archroma’s sales agent for its color management products in France, including the Color Atlas by Archroma® color library and related tools. Archroma’s color management services will continue to be sold through the existing channels.

The Color Atlas by Archroma® uses complementary tools to enhance creative possibilities for designers and brands. It incorporates the six-volume ‘Color Atlas’ Library, with over 4,300 colors on cotton poplin; the two-volume ‘Color Atlas Compact’ for improved portability; and the ‘Color Atlas Online’ which enables you to take an image with your smartphone and identify the closest Color Atlas shades.
“Just like designers, brands, retailers, manufacturers and Carlin, we are passionate about color trends,” explains Chris Hipps, Global Director of Archroma Color Management Services. “We redefined the concept of a color library for the textile industry with our Color Atlas, an essential and inspirational reference that gives creatives options that they had never dreamed of. With our new partnership with Carlin we’ll be able to share our Color Atlas and our passion for color with a new audience.”

“Carlin is at the forefront of trend forecasting,” explains Edouard Keller, Head of International Sales, Carlin. “And that includes the use of color. Archroma offers a suite of services and tools that are both practical and instantly available for our clients; this is what makes their solution so attractive to us. Our partnership with Archroma will empower us to share the advanced Color Atlas and associated tools with creatives throughout France, helping them to unlock their creativity with color.”

Exhibitors from eight countries have already confirmed to participate in the fair’s European Zone. They join an expected 500-plus total exhibitors from around the world. The 2018 edition of this biennial fair takes place from 4 – 6 September in halls N1 – N3 of the Shanghai New International Expo Centre.

While China retains its edge in terms of technical textiles and nonwovens production capabilities, in the eyes of Chinese buyers, European suppliers are still the leaders when it comes to technology and innovation. This was widely reported by European exhibitors at the previous edition in 2016 of Asia’s leading biennial trade event for the industry: Cinte Techtextil China.

“In the Chinese market, buyers want good quality products, so overseas companies, and products with recognised quality certifications, have a lot of potential,” Ms Ping Chen, General Manager of IBENA Shanghai Technical Textiles commented. “As a leading German company in the industry, our products are welcomed by many buyers at this fair. It is also important to be in the German Pavilion as this signals to buyers that we have quality products, and it attracts more attention.” Swiss firm Sanitized AG had the same experience. “As a Swiss company in the European Zone I believe it’s an advantage, as some local buyers have more confidence towards imported products,” Mr Steven Liu, Sales Manager said.

Other exhibitors commented on the long-term trends in the Chinese market. “There’s a definite shift to more high-quality machinery in China that isn’t affected by what’s happening in the overall economy. Moreover, there are opportunities for overseas suppliers as there is still a gap between us and what Chinese companies produce,” Dr Joachim Binnig, Vice President, Head of Development & Technology, Autefa Solutions Germany GmbH explained.

Mr Roger Zhang, Sales Manager for German firm J.H. Ziegler Nonwovens and New Materials commented: “Our products are mainly for high-end Chinese customers, such as BMW and Audi. The Chinese market has gradually matured, but the production capability for high-performance products which are energy efficient and eco-friendly is still developing, so there is a lot of space for overseas brands to develop here.”

European Zone highlights
This year’s European Zone will feature around 30 exhibitors from eight countries, including Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, while further exhibitors can be found in national pavilions from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany and Italy. Some of the exhibitor highlights in the European Zone include:

• Arkema (France): with brands including PMMA Altuglas, Rilsan, Pebax, Kynar PVDF and Bostik, they will present polymer resin for fibres and yarns, which apply to a wide range of applications, at the fair.
• Dakota Coating (Belgium): specialists in thermoplastic and thermosetting adhesives, their polymer products, based on polyethylene, polyolefin or mixtures, ethylene vinyl acetates, co-polyamides, polyurethanes and co-polyesters, are suitable for automotive, building, heat transfer and sound insulation uses.
• Lenzing Plastics (Austria): a new exhibitor at the fair, they are a leading manufacturer of polyolefin and fluoropolymer products, such as Thermoplast and PTFE products. One of their core competencies lies in the monoaxial stretching of films and filaments, and they offer special solutions in the fields of construction & insulation, medicine & hygiene, packaging and cables, as well as automotive and technical textiles. They will highlight their PROFILEN® PTFE product at the fair, and with its extreme durability and very smooth surface, it is highly valued in many niche applications in the technical and medical sectors.
• Protechnic (France): leading manufacturers of hot-melt adhesives and plastic printed films, they will showcase hot melt thermo-adhesive nets, webs and films at the fair.
• Trelleborg Coated Systems (Italy): another new exhibitor this edition, they produce high-performance, engineered coated fabrics. They offer a wide variety of substrates – from Kevlar® to silk – with a choice of weaving methods.

• Revenue increased by 5.9 percent to EUR 2.26 bn
• EBITDA up 17.3 percent to EUR 502.5 mn
• Dividend proposal of EUR 3.00/share plus a special dividend of EUR 2.00/share
• New brand strategy to generate a strong message to consumers
• Limited visibility for coming quarters

In 2017, the Lenzing Group reports its best financial performance ever with record revenue and earnings due to a better product mix and higher selling prices in combination with a generally favorable market environment.

Group revenue grew by 5.9 percent in the 2017 financial year to EUR 2.26 bn (2016: EUR 2.13 bn). Group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) improved by 17.3 percent to EUR 502.5 mn (2016: EUR 428.3 mn). The corresponding EBITDA margin rose to 22.2 percent (2016: 20.1 percent). Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) increased by 25.2 percent to EUR 371 mn, resulting in a higher EBIT margin of 16.4 percent (2016: 13.9 percent). The net profit for the year totaled EUR 281.7 mn, a rise of 23 percent from the prior-year figure of EUR 229.1 mn. Earnings per share in the 2017 financial year amounted to EUR 10.47 (2016: EUR 8.48).

The Management Board and the Supervisory Board will propose at the upcoming Annual General Meeting a stable dividend of EUR 3.00 per share plus an increased special dividend of EUR 2.00 per share (2016: EUR 1.20 per share). In total, the dividend will amount to EUR 5.00 per share, corresponding to a dividend payment to shareholders of EUR 132.75 mn.

“The Lenzing Group looks back at a very successful year 2017. We continued to implement our corporate strategy sCore TEN with great discipline and focus on our investment projects and successfully captured value in a positive market environment. Our commitment to innovation and customer centricity was underpinned by the opening of an application innovation center in Hong Kong and the creation of the new sales and marketing office in Turkey. In line with sCore TEN we decided to revamp our brand architecture and image to sharpen Lenzing’s corporate and product profiles for customers and consumers. We want to put a stronger emphasis on our ambition to make the textile and nonwoven market more sustainable”, says Stefan Doboczky, Chief Executive Officer of the Lenzing Group.

“We are very positive about our chosen strategy as it will help us to be more resilient as we expect more headwinds in the upcoming quarters”, he adds.

• Revenue up 11 percent to EUR 1,149.1 mn
• EBITDA increase of 38.8 percent to EUR 270.7 mn
• Detailed planning for new production plant for TENCEL® fibers in Thailand in Progress
• New sales offices opened in Turkey and Korea
• New EcoVeroTM branded viscose fibers with very favorable ecological footprint launched

The Lenzing Group generated new record highs in the first half of the 2017 financial year for both revenue and earnings. The key underlying factors were good capacity utilization, higher selling prices and an attractive product mix. Lenzing will continue to focus on the disciplined implementation of the Group strategy sCore TEN, in order to be even closer to the customer and to further expand the offering of specialty fibers.

Consolidated revenue increased by 11 percent from the first half of the previous financial year to EUR 1,149.1 mn. Consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were up 38.8 percent to EUR 270.7 mn, corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 23.6 percent in comparison to 18.9 percent in the prior-year period. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) increased by 57.4 percent to EUR 204.2 mn, resulting in a higher EBIT margin of 17.8 percent (H1 2016: 12.5 percent). The profit for the period improved by 58.9 percent to EUR 150.3 mn, and earnings per share climbed 59 percent to EUR 5.55 per share.

“The first half-year developed very well for the Lenzing Group, and we are pleased with the best half-year period in the company’s history. We will continue our disciplined implementation of the sCore TEN strategy. The expansion of new state-of-the-art production capacities for our specialty fibers is proceeding well and will support our customers in their own expansion efforts for products made of our botanic fibers. The decision to set up a subsidiary and acquire a respective landplot in Thailand is the next step in the implementation of this strategy. On the innovation side we are proud that after the introduction of RefibraTM branded lyocell fibers, we launched now EcoVeroTM. This is a particularly high-performance fiber featuring a very favorable ecological footprint and sets the new benchmark for the entire industry – from fiber to garment”, states Stefan Doboczky, Chief Executive Officer of the Lenzing Group. “Assuming that fiber market conditions remain at current levels, we expect a substantial earnings improvement in 2017 compared to 2016.”