FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX Broker) - Investors in SGL Group came to terms with the cautious business outlook for 2024 in the course of trading on Friday. From the day's low of 5.955 euros, the shares of the carbon fiber specialist rose by around 13 percent to 6.755 euros by midday. This puts them just below the high for the year and within sight of the exponential 200-day line.

Demand from the semiconductor industry will be decisive in 2024, according to analyst Henrik Paganetty from Jefferies in his commentary on the figures. This is because demand from the wind energy sector will remain low. This is also the reason for the cautious outlook with sales at the previous year's level.

The shares were not quite able to maintain their midday level. Shortly before the end of trading, they gained just under five percent to EUR 6.50 - still an increase of around nine percent compared to the day's low from the first few minutes of trading.

With the rise on Friday, the share price made up for its losses so far this year and is back to the price it was at the end of 2023. In January, the share price had fallen to EUR 5.755. With its sideways movement, the share is fully in line with the trend of the SDax, which, unlike the Dax, has not budged so far this year.

Over the past twelve months, the SDax with second-line stocks has also performed significantly worse than the German benchmark index, which has risen by almost a fifth, with an increase of nine percent. In the comparably weak SDax, SGL shares were among the weakest stocks with a discount of almost 19 percent over the past twelve months.

With a market capitalization of just under 800 million euros, SGL is also at the lower end of the 70 stocks listed on the SDax. SGL was once considered very interesting for car manufacturers, as the company produces carbon and the composite material was seen as a beacon of hope for car body construction.

This is why BMW and Volkswagen invested in SGL at the beginning of the last decade. BMW currently holds 18 percent of SGL shares. Volkswagen holds around 7 percent. Billionaire Susanne Klatten, who in turn is a major BMW shareholder, is the largest shareholder with just over 27 percent.

Due to speculation at the time of a takeover by one of the car manufacturers, the share price had risen to more than 40 euros./zb/ag/men

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