Business Groups Europe, Asia and SAMEA recorded organic sales growth that considerably exceeded the market level in the first six months. Year-on-year, the EBIT margin before special effects further improved to 8.3%, thus again exceeding the 8% mark.

Based on the anticipated further softening of demand in the North American market in the second half of 2017, Autoneum expects net sales growth in 2017 to be above market, but below the annual target of 4% to 5% and the EBIT margin to exceed 8%.

Significant investments

To further expand its market and technology leadership in the future, Autoneum has made significant investments in global capacity expansion. This includes optimised development and expanded production facilities for its Ultra-Silent underbody technology in Germany and Switzerland as well as carpet production lines in Jeffersonville (Indiana), USA and in the new plants in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

For the North American market, Autoneum recently expanded its underbody offering to include plastic underbodies produced in Mexico. The company also opened a new Technical Center in Novi (Michigan), USA in May. “In China, the world’s largest automotive market, capacity expansion is supporting the targeted sales growth. Market share gains achieved in the first six months of 2017 confirm the successful implementation of the Asia strategy,” the company reports.

Business Groups

Business Group Europe raised net sales in local currencies by 5.2%, thus clearly outpacing market growth. The supply of high-volume vehicle models was the main driver of increased sales. Year-on-year, EBIT rose from CHF 32.9 million to CHF 37.6 million.

In Business Group North America, lower production volumes at automobile manufacturers in the main market USA as well as in Canada and correspondingly lower call-off orders at Autoneum led to a net sales decline of 1.4% in local currencies.

With an increase of 14.1% in local currencies, net sales of Business Group Asia again significantly outpaced the market in the first half of 2017. Due to expansion-related investments in production capacity and higher raw material prices, the EBIT margin of 11.7% was below the previous year’s mark, but remains at a sustainable level over the long term.

Net sales of Business Group SAMEA (South America, Middle East and Africa) posted significant growth of 33.0% in local currencies. Higher order volumes in Brazil and Argentina as well as strong export volumes in Turkey were key factors of this significant growth. EBIT improved by CHF 4.9 million, reaching again a break-even.

Capacity for innovation

Autoneum started its first global Industry 4.0 project which will support efficiency improvements in production. Simultaneously, 2017 represents a new chapter in the company’s Corporate Responsibility management. Through its commitment to transparency and by managing human and natural resources responsibly, the company aims at making a decisive contribution to a sustainable future.

In this context, Autoneum published its first Corporate Responsibility Report for the 2016 financial year in accordance with the requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the leading global standard in sustainability reporting.

www.autoneum.com