Polytec (Hörsching / Austria; www.polytec-group.com) said it has signed a contract to sell its interest in its industrial division, which produces moulded polyurethane parts, coatings and machines and equipment for the processing of plastics. The unit's plants in Marchtrenk / Austria and Bochum / Germany employ 130 people.

With the divestment of the division, the company plans to focus on its position as a supplier of plastics solutions for the automotive industry and complex modules for other sectors. Polytec said it expects the sale to have a one-off cash effect of around EUR 17m, which is seen impacting the company's results by about EUR 14m and consolidating the company's already solid financial basis. At the same time, Polytec will be in a position to seize any acquisition opportunities arising from the need for consolidation within the industry anticipated due to the present economic environment, CEO Markus Huemer explained.

In the first nine months of 2020, Polytec Group posted sales of EUR 379.4m, a 19% drop from the previous year. The commercial vehicles division suffered significant losses, with revenues down 32% to 86.3m. Sales of the strongest segment in terms of turnover, passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, fell 15% to EUR 242.1m. The smart plastic and industrial applications division, which produces non-automotive products such as logistics boxes for the food industry, was down 12% to EUR 51m.

Group EBIT slipped EUR 6.2m into the red versus EUR 22.2m in the black in the same period of 2019. This led to a loss of EUR 10.4m after taxes in the first three quarters following a profit of EUR 14.1m in January-August of the previous year.

Business development since June has shown a certain recovery following the coronavirus slump, and management remains cautiously optimistic about the final quarter of the year. For the year as a whole, the company anticipates sales revenues of around EUR 520m. Thanks to proceeds from the sale of the industrial division, EBIT is expected to be balanced.