Recently, Belgian steel cord giant Bekaert disclosed its operating bulletin. In the first quarter of this year, the company achieved revenue of 917 million euros (approximately equivalent to 7.24 billion RMB), representing a year-on-year decrease of 7%.
The revenue decline was mainly dragged down by multiple factors including exchange rate fluctuations, product pricing, and product category structure. Specifically, sales growth contributed a positive 32 million euros to revenue, while product pricing and category structure dragged down 30 million euros, exchange rate factors caused a loss of 45 million euros, and asset divestment in the Latin American region also produced a negative impact of 31 million euros. The growth in sales partially offset the aforementioned negative factors.
By business segment, within the rubber reinforcement sector, sales volume in the Asian market increased significantly, and the North American market also saw improvement, successfully making up for the gap caused by weak demand in the European market. Bekaert stated that amidst fierce competition, the company continued to consolidate its market position in high-end tire cords. At the same time, within this quarter, Bekaert completed the acquisition of Bridgestone's steel cord factories located in Thailand and China, and the transaction was officially closed at the end of April.
In addition, Bekaert announced adjustments to the financial reporting standards for the rubber reinforcement business starting from 2026, merging the hose and conveyor belt sub-segments originally classified under the special business sector into this sector. The company stated that this move stems from operational and technical synergies in the cord manufacturing process, aiming to better align with the end-market layout.
On the external environment front, affected by the situation in the Middle East, rising energy and raw material prices squeezed profit margins. Bekaert pointed out that uncertainty in geopolitics and trade situations, compounded by inflation and supply chain pressures, may drag down global demand and push up raw material costs, intensifying profit pressure. Currently, the company has effectively hedged against the direct impact brought by the Middle East situation and continues to implement cost reduction and efficiency improvement measures to cope with challenges.
Looking ahead to the full year, Bekaert stated that on a comparable basis, the company's full-year revenue and profit margin are expected to remain basically flat compared to last year.
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