Continental AG
After the weak first quarter of last year, sales increased by eleven percent to 10.3 billion euros.
(Photo: dpa)
The supplier Continental significantly increased sales and profits in the first quarter thanks to the recovery of its car business. The board of directors headed by Nikolai Setzer expects this development to continue and has confirmed its business forecast for the year as a whole. A major order worth 1.7 billion euros in the field of autonomous driving also makes him optimistic.
After the weak first quarter of last year, sales increased by eleven percent to 10.3 billion euros, as the Dax company announced on Wednesday in Hanover. Operating profit (adjusted EBIT) climbed 35 percent to 578 million euros, which corresponds to a margin of 5.6 percent. Net profit increased by 59.6 percent to 382 million euros. At the start of trading, Conti shares rose by four percent on the stock exchange.
“We are sticking to our outlook for the year as a whole,” said Chief Financial Officer Katja Dürrfeld. Accordingly, the board of directors expects sales of 42 to 45 billion euros and a margin of 5.5 to 6.5 percent. In the current year, Continental continues to expect global production of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles to increase by two to four percent.
The car division, which had slipped deep into the red in the same quarter of the previous year, now made a small profit. At 0.8 percent, the margin was well above the previous year’s first quarter of minus 4.1 percent. Sales rose by 18.1 percent to five billion euros, although this was due to a small extent to exchange rate effects and a change in the division’s structure.
As expected, the result of the car division is below the forecast for the year as a whole, explained CEO Setzer. “According to our expectations, this will develop positively in the further course of the year.”
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