FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Investors reacted huffily to Lanxess ' business figures on Wednesday. The chemical group's forecasts in particular went down badly with investors. The shares were down 7.5 percent at the MDax end in the late morning, sliding to their lowest level since the end of last year at 36.33 euros. This means that the share price gains of 27 percent at the peak of the 2023 stock market year are no longer valid - since the beginning of the year, the share price has fallen by a good three and a half percent.

Despite the economic headwind, the Lanxess Management Board has set itself the target of more or less stable earnings for the current year. On average, the market is currently expecting a slight decline. However, at least in the first few months, the Group's Board of Management is expecting headwinds from ongoing destocking by customers and the consequences of high energy prices. According to CEO Matthias Zachert, demand has so far remained subdued at the start of the year, as it was in the final quarter.

Analyst Konstantin Wiechert of Baader Bank took a positive view of the outlook for the year, seeing it as evidence of Lanxess' robust positioning. Other observers, however, were primarily bothered by the targets for the start of the year. Analyst Chris Counihan of Jefferies described the earnings forecast for the current first quarter as subdued. Adjusted operating profit (Ebitda) of 180 to 220 million euros was below his assumption of 237 million euros, while the consensus estimate of 213 million euros was at the upper end of the guidance range. Counihan therefore expected a muted share price reaction.

JPMorgan analyst Chetan Udeshi, meanwhile, took another look back: He wrote that the chemical group's key figures for the fourth quarter were conspicuously weak in terms of free cash flow.

UBS analyst Andrew Stott also found a few hairs in the soup, such as the weak outlook for the first quarter. In addition, the division for protective materials (Consumer Protection), which he valued particularly highly, came out well below market expectations in the final quarter in terms of operating profit.

With the current price losses, Lanxess shares are continuing the downward slide that began in early February. Previously, the share had reached its high for the year to date of 47.83 euros - at that time, it had risen to its highest level since February 2022. However, Lanxess' share price has been subject to much greater fluctuations than the chemical sector as a whole in recent years. Despite several attempts to recover, the share is now a good half the distance from its previous record high of 74.78 euros at the beginning of 2018./tav/niw/mis