2017 financial year: revenue growth in line with market

Thanks to its broad global presence, Autoneum grew at market level in 2017 despite the market decline in North America. Revenue adjusted for currency and divestment effects increased by 2.4% year-on-year. In Swiss francs, Group revenue improved by 2.3% to CHF 2,203.0 million. Further efficiency gains in production, near-maximum capacity utilization in Europe and the turnaround of Business Group SAMEA (South America, Middle East and Africa) were decisive for the persistent high profitability level achieved in 2017.

Compared to the previous year, global automobile production lost considerable momentum in 2017: The number of light vehicles produced worldwide only increased by around 2% to 95 million. While the production growth rates in Europe and Asia were on a similar level, the SAMEA region showed its first significant recovery in some time due to strong growth in production volumes in the key market of Brazil. Thanks to – partly significant – revenue increases in Europe, Asia and the SAMEA region, Autoneum was able to offset the cyclical and demand-related decline in revenue in the USA, the key market of North America, and in Canada. Revenue adjusted for currency and divestment effects improved on a par with the market by 2.4%. Revenue consolidated in Swiss francs rose by 2.3% from CHF 2,152.6 million in 2016 to CHF 2,203.0 million.

Revenue growth in Asia and SAMEA region outperformed market significantly
The Business Groups Europe, Asia and SAMEA recorded substantial revenue growth in 2017. Business Group Europe’s revenue improved by 4.7% in local currencies and thereby outperformed the development of this key automobile market. In North America, the market slump in the USA and Canada led to a reduction in call-offs at Autoneum and to a revenue decrease of –4.6% for Business Group North America, adjusted for currency and divestment effects. With a currency-adjusted plus of 14.0%, Business Group Asia’s revenue again surpassed the market many times over thanks to high-volume orders from Japanese, European and US-American customers. Business Group SAMEA not only continued but considerably expanded the previous year’s upward trend and achieved an organic revenue growth of 29.6%, which far exceeded the already dynamic market development in this region. This above-average growth was driven by higher production volumes in Brazil and Argentina and the high-volume export business in Turkey and South Africa.

Operating result in line with expectations
Efficiency gains in production, near-maximum capacity utilization in Europe and the turnaround of Business Group SAMEA helped Autoneum to maintain 2016’s high profitability level in 2017. Based on the preliminary figures, Autoneum expects the 2017 EBIT margin to be in line with its guidance.

Publication of 2017 revenue and year-end financial statements
The 2017 revenue presentation can be found at www.autoneum.com/investor-relations/financial-reports. The year-end financial statements and the 2017 annual report will be published at the Media and Financial Analysts Conference on March 7, 2018 in Winterthur.