Lanxess AG (LXS), the chemical maker that joined Germany’s benchmark DAX index in September, jumped the most in more than five weeks after Michelin & Cie. (ML) said European demand for tires expanded in April.
Lanxess rose as much as 6.2 percent, the biggest intraday gain since April 10, to 56.99 euros. Industrywide passenger-car tire volume rose 3 percent from a year earlier for original equipment and 5 percent for replacement products, Clermont-Ferrand, France-based Michelin, the region’s biggest tiremaker, said today in an online statement.
The tire and auto industries generate 40 percent of sales at Leverkusen, Germany-based Lanxess, whose products include synthetic rubber. European car sales rose for the first time in 19 months in April, propelled by rebounds in Germany and Spain, according to industry figures published today.
The chemical maker’s first-quarter profit dropped 53 percent after European car sales slid to a 20-year low in the period. Lanxess stock reached a 14-month trough last month after the company predicted a drop in profit that was steeper than the decline estimated by analysts, and announced the idling of two factories for a period of several weeks.
Lanxess was trading up 5.5 percent at 56.60 euros at 1:07 p.m. in Frankfurt. The amount of shares exceeded the three-month daily volume by 37 percent. The company has a market value of 4.71 billion euros ($6.06 billion).
Source: Bloomberg
