Lenzing's Heiligenkreuz Buyer List Set for November Cut as Deutsche Bank Raises Target

Lenzing has roughly 30 parties circling its Heiligenkreuz site, with a shortlist of potential buyers due to be drawn up in mid-November and a decision on whether the plant is sold or shut expected by the end of the year. The supervisory board holds the final call, according to ORF, and the company is weighing asset sales as an alternative to closure.

The Austrian fibre maker has already mapped out the wind-down timetable. Production at Heiligenkreuz is slated to end by the close of the first quarter of 2027, while the Grimsby facility is set to follow by the end of 2027.

Impairments Drag Nine-Month Result Into the Red

Those two sites carried impairment charges of EUR 136.1 million, pushing nine-month EBIT to minus EUR 55.1 million. The net loss widened to EUR 130.3 million over the same stretch, compared with EUR 105.0 million a year earlier.

Operating profitability told a different story. Adjusted EBITDA for the first nine months of 2026 came in at EUR 353 million, and the adjusted EBITDA margin climbed to 17.3% in the third quarter, up from 13.3% in the prior-year period. Lenzing is guiding toward full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA of EUR 430–460 million.

Deutsche Bank Sees Progress, Not a Finished Recovery

Deutsche Bank Research weighed in on Monday, reaffirming its "Hold" rating and lifting its price target to EUR 14.30 from EUR 12.70. Analyst Lars Vom-Cleff pointed to stronger underlying profitability in the third quarter, though he cautioned that the turnaround is not yet complete.

Shares were down 1.6% at EUR 11.26 on the day, leaving the stock still below the revised target as investors await clarity on the Heiligenkreuz process.