Mahle sees fall in sales during first half 2013
October 1, 2013
precision steel pipes with cam lobes made from steel
and powder metal materials. Due to their modular
construction and flexibility they are increasingly
displacing other forms of camshafts. An assembled
camshaft is up to 45% lighter than a cast or forged
camshaft (Photo Mahle)
In the first half year of 2013 the Mahle Group recorded sales of €3,033.4 million, some €173.7 million less than the corresponding period of 2012 (–5.4%). According to the group, around €90 million can be attributed to negative currency exchange rate effects, with the devaluation of the Japanese yen and the Brazilian real having a particularly negative impact. The current weak situation on the global commercial vehicle market, along with the contrasting regional variations in the development of the passenger car markets has also had a detrimental effect. Because of weak demand, the group’s industrial activities also failed to maintain the previous year’s sales level, stated the group.
In Europe sales of €1,445 million for the first half-year of 2013 were down 6.1% in the year-on-year comparison. However, the indicators for stabilisation have been increasingly apparent in recent months. While a decrease of 11.9% was recorded for the first quarter, sales for the second quarter were roughly on a par with the previous year. The share in sales of the European units amounted to approximately 47% and thus declined slightly in comparison with the previous year.
In the North America region, total sales remained 2.2% below the previous year’s value at €631 million. The Engine Systems and Components business unit was not able to match the previous year’s level. The restrained commercial vehicle production and, in particular, the decline in demand in the off-highway sector had an adverse impact on construction machines and stationary engines. In contrast, the Filtration and Engine Peripherals business unit, which mainly serves the passenger car industry, recorded considerable growth of 8.5%. Apart from the generally strong market development in the passenger car and light commercial vehicle sector, production ramp-ups with air intake modules also played a major role in this development. The proportion of group sales generated in North America rose slightly in the first half-year to 21%.
In the South America region, Mahle may have benefited from the recovery on the passenger car and commercial vehicle markets; however, severely negative exchange rate effects had a substantial influence in Euro, the Group currency. Overall, the Group recorded sales of roughly €360 million, which corresponds to a share of about 12% in group sales. The drop of 3.7% can be wholly attributed to exchange rate effects. Sales increased by 5.2% after adjustment for devaluation effects.
In the Asia/Pacific region, sales of approximately €598 million fell short of the previous year’s value by €51.2 million. Exchange rate effects once again had a considerable negative impact of €45.6 million. Especially the massive devaluation of the Japanese yen by well over 20% against the euro more than offset the significant growth in some Asian countries. The proportion of group sales achieved in Asia remained at 20%.
Despite the very moderate development of sales overall, major financial ratios in the first half-year, such as the EBITDA and EBIT margins adjusted for extraordinary effects, were kept almost at the previous year’s level.
As part of restructuring measures, Mahle initiated the shutdown of passenger car piston production at the French location near Colmar. Production is scheduled to end in the first quarter of 2014. The aim is to achieve a significant improvement in capacity utilisation at the other European locations in 2014.
For the second half of 2013, the development of sales and revenue is expected to stabilise at the level of the previous year. However, economic uncertainties persist particularly in Europe. Overall, we envisage potential total annual sales of around € 6.1 billion.
