Nov 8 (Reuters) - German speciality chemicals maker Lanxess on Wednesday reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales, citing weaker demand from nearly all industries and customers.

Sales by the Cologne-based group, which makes high-end speciality chemicals such as additives, lubricants, flame retardants and plastics, dropped 26.7% to 1.60 billion euros ($1.71 billion) in the third quarter, below analysts' average estimate of 1.76 billion euros in a poll provided by the company.

Lanxess, which had initially managed to pass rising raw material and energy costs onto customers, cut its annual earnings guidance for the second time this year on Monday, as sluggish demand and still ongoing destocking by customers continue to weigh on its business.

Lanxess said it expected no recovery for the remainder of the year.

"On the contrary, demand in the fourth quarter to date seems to be even weaker than expected," Chief Executive Officer Matthias Zachert said in a statement. ($1 = 0.9359 euros) (Reporting by Tristan Veyet and Linda Pasquini in Gdansk; Editing by Kim Coghill)