FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German automotive supplier Continental AG <CONG.DE> on Monday said its operating margin would fall this year, citing mounting pressure on the car industry which is struggling with a shift away from combustion engines towards electric cars.
The group expects its adjusted operating (EBIT) margin to shrink to 8-9 percent this year. According to preliminary figures, its adjusted EBIT margin came in at 9.2 percent in 2018.
"As feared, the decline of the automotive markets intensified significantly once again in the fourth quarter," Chief Executive Elmar Degenhart said. "This, combined with the profound changes in our industries, is reducing our growth rate."
Shares in the company were indicated 3.2 percent in pre-market trade, at the bottom of Germany's blue-chip index.
The group also said it expects consolidated sales of 45 billion to 47 billion euros ($52-54 billion) in 2019, compared with 44.4 billion in 2018.
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz, editing by Edward Taylor and Riham Alkousaa)
