Schaeffler
The industry is currently under pressure from several sides.
(Photo: IMAGO/Lutz Winkler)
The automotive supplier Schaeffler is benefiting from its broad positioning in the current difficult environment. “It shows why diversification can be something very good,” CEO Klaus Rosenfeld told Handelsblatt. The strong spare parts business recently compensated for weaknesses in the industrial division. The Franconian group was even able to slightly raise its profit forecast for the current year.
The poorer economic situation also has advantages for Schaeffler. “In recession times, people don’t buy a new car, they fix it,” Rosenfeld said. The so-called aftermarket division was able to increase its sales by more than eight percent to 549 million euros in the second quarter with a high operating margin of more than 16 percent.
Overall, Schaeffler sales increased by seven percent to a good four billion euros in the second quarter. The operating result before special effects increased by 44 percent to 289 million euros. For the year as a whole, the Franconian group continues to expect sales growth of five to eight percent. The operating margin (EBIT) should now be six to eight percent, half a percentage point more than before.
However, the industrial business with components for wind turbines, bicycles and factories, for example, is weakening. Here, the operating profit fell by 22 percent to 97 million euros. Schaeffler reduced the sales and earnings expectations in the area for the full year and announced “countermeasures” to “counteract the current negative margin trend”.
Rosenfeld emphasized that the measures were not of a structural nature – for example, no round of job cuts should be initiated. “It’s more about strict cost management.” In his opinion, the problems in the industrial division are rather temporary. “There is a lot of economic headwind.”
The automotive suppliers have to contend with many challenges
Other suppliers are also feeling the effects. A few days ago, Continental warned investors that the automotive division had slipped into the red in operational terms in the second quarter. The reason is “essentially high negative effects from currency conversion and ongoing costs for special freight”.
The industry is currently under pressure from several sides. Automakers like Volkswagen are driving prices down because they want to cut costs. In addition, Korean and Chinese suppliers have recently been able to gain market share. And finally, the German car manufacturers and suppliers have to manage the transformation into the electric age, others were sometimes faster.
Combustion engines are currently in increasing demand again, but the electric segment will grow strongly, said Schaeffler CEO Rosenfeld. “We are investing massively in electric mobility.” Schaeffler has the advantage that it not only supplies parts for the drive, but also, for example, bearings and chassis parts that are needed for both variants.
In the past full year, Schaeffler increased sales by a good nine percent to 15.8 billion euros, adjusted for currency effects. A third of the growth was due to higher prices. The operating result before special effects fell from a good 1.2 to around one billion euros, which corresponded to a margin of 6.6 percent.
More: BMW is more optimistic about the year as a whole
First publication: 08/02/2023, 08:58 (last updated: 08/02/2023, 11:57).