Automotive could rebound next year: Eramet

A rebound could take place as early as next year in the automotive sector, says French miner Eramet in its third-quarter financial report monitored by Kallanish.

The collapse of the aerospace sector and the steep downturn in the automotive sector continued to weigh heavily on the High-Performance Alloys division in Q3. The automotive industry, which accounts for nearly half of French subsidiary Erasteel’s sales, remained very depressed over the quarter, with the exception of a marked rebound in China.

Erasteel’s Q3 sales were down -26% on-year to €32 million ($37.4m). Production was also hampered by the continuing weak market environment, being adjusted to meet customers’ immediate needs, the firm says.

Eramet is envisaging the divestment of French subsidiary Aubert & Duval (A&D), at which sales declined by -18% to €122m in Q3. The aerospace sector, which represents approximately 70% of A&D’s sales, has been very hard hit by the Covid-19 crisis, with an extremely marked slowdown in air transport.

In particular, at end-September Airbus announced it had delivered 341 aircraft since the beginning of the year, nearly -40% down on-year. Aircraft manufacturers continue to adjust their production rates to demand.

The impacts could be deeper and more extended for wide-body aircraft. However, the defence, energy and nuclear markets are stable, particularly thanks to public investment programmes, the report adds.