Conti Predicts 8.5% EBIT this Year

Continental AG says it expects pre-tax profits (EBIT) of about 8.5 per cent this year, despite an earlier prediction of 9.3 per cent.

The company, which recently gained a new leading shareholder – ball bearing maker Schaeffler Group – put the profit warning down to the “substantial worsening of the economic environment on the vehicle markets in North America and Europe in the third quarter and the unchanged high burdens from increased raw material cost.” The company maintained its 2008 sales projection of 26.4 billion euros.