Continental ended the second quarter of 2023 with strong earnings again in the Tires group sector and high order intake in Automotive of around €8.6 billion. The ContiTech group sector achieved solid results, while earnings in Automotive fell short of expectations, due to currency effects and costs for special freight.

Furthermore, inflation-related price negotiations scheduled for the second quarter are still ongoing. As a result of updated market expectations in the tire-replacement business, the company has adjusted its outlook for sales in the Tires group sector and for consolidated sales. The outlook for the adjusted EBIT margins remains unchanged.

"ContiTech's performance remained solid. Earnings in Automotive, however, fell short of expectations. Here we will need to make up considerable ground in the second half of the year. By doing so, we will also improve our consolidated margin," said Nikolai Setzer, CEO, Continental. "Through our partnership with Aurora, we have generated significant order intake and taken a major technological step forward in autonomous mobility."

In the second quarter of 2023, Continental achieved consolidated sales of €10.4 billion (Q2 2022: €9.4 billion, +10.4 percent). Its adjusted operating result (adjusted EBIT) was €497 million (Q2 2022: €401 million, +24.1 percent), corresponding to an adjusted EBIT margin of 4.8 percent (Q2 2022: 4.3 percent).

Net income in the second quarter amounted to €209 million (Q2 2022: -€251 million). Adjusted free cash flow was -€14 million (Q2 2022: -€687 million).

"We stabilised our adjusted free cash flow year-on-year as well as compared with the first quarter of 2023. As announced, we made initial progress with our inventories, which we will need to reduce further. The same applies to our receivables, which remain high and are also having a negative effect on our free cash flow," said  Katja Dürrfeld, CFO, Continental.