ÂÌñÏ×ÆÞ

On Feb. 18, SGL Carbon SE’s (Wiesbaden, Germany) board of management decided, with approval of the supervisory board, to restructure the company’s Carbon Fibers business unit. In this regard, SGL Carbon will significantly reduce Carbon Fibers’ business activities and focus on a profitable core. Individual solutions are being developed for all Carbon Fibers sites, including the closure of unprofitable sites. Joint venture Brembo SGL Carbon Ceramic Brakes S.p.A. (BSCCB), which is allocated to the Carbon Fibers business unit for accounting purposes, is not affected by the restructuring.

SGL Carbon previously announced in February 2024 that it was reviewing all strategic options for the Carbon Fibers business unit. A complete sale of the business unit was intensively evaluated, but is no longer considered feasible.

Featured Content

Assembling the Multifunctional Fuselage Demonstrator: The final welds READ MORE

Composites end markets: Sports and recreation (2025) READ MORE

Bladder-assisted compression molding derivative produces complex, autoclave-quality automotive parts READ MORE

“We are in the initial phase of restructuring the business unit Carbon Fibers, so we ask for your understanding that we are currently unable to provide any specific details regarding individual site closures and the exact restructuring period,” says Dr. Stephan Bühler, the responsible member of SGL’s board of management. “Our goal is to quickly begin the implementation in order to create clarity for our employees. We will begin the restructuring as quickly as possible in order to contain the operating losses of Carbon Fibers and the associated impact on the entire company in the short term.”

The company is expecting one-time cash effects in the amount of approximately €50 million over the next 2 years due to the extensive restructuring.

Carbon Fibers produces textile, acrylic and carbon fibers at seven sites in Europe and North America, with around 870 employees. After a slump in demand for carbon fibers for the wind industry, the business unit’s sales and earnings fell significantly in the course of fiscal years 2023 and 2024.

“The earlier expectations for carbon fibers as a future material for the automotive industry have not been fulfilled,” says Andreas Klein, CEO of SGL Carbon, explaining the decision to restructure the Carbon Fibers business. “The wind energy industry was also unable to compensate the shortfall in demand. In combination with increasing global overcapacities, high operating losses were incurred over the last 2 years, which weighed on the entire SGL Carbon.”

Based on preliminary figures, Carbon Fibers generated sales of around €210 million in fiscal year 2024 (previous year: €224.9 million). According to preliminary figures, the negatively adjusted EBITDA of Carbon Fibers, excluding the share of the earnings of the joint venture BSCCB, amounted to around -€27 million in fiscal year 2024 (previous year: -€10.9 million), as expected.

The continued weak business development of Carbon Fibers also impacts the group. Based on preliminary figures, SGL Carbon group sales amounted to approximately €1,026 million (previous year: €1,089.1 million) in fiscal year 2024. Preliminary adjusted EBITDA for the group of approximately €163 million was slightly below the prior-year level (2023: €168.4 million), but in line with the given guidance for 2024. Based on current economic conditions and forecasts for some of SGL’s markets — such as the automotive and semiconductor industries — SGL Carbon expects the market environment to remain challenging in 2025.

Further information on business development in 2024 and final financial figures can be found in the SGL Carbon Annual Report, which will be published together with an outlook for the current fiscal year on March 20, 2025.