Winterthur, Switzerland -- Swiss auto parts maker Autoneum announced a 1.9% increase in net sales in local currencies for 2014 and said the company was expecting a significant rise in net profit over the year.
The company said the loss of sales from the sale of its Italian subsidiary and the ongoing devaluation of various currencies had impacted the final figures. Net sales in Swiss francs decreased from CHF2,053.3m to CHF 1,954.7m, according to the press release.
However, it added that capacity adjustments finalised in 2014 and the improved utilisation of European plants saw its operating margin over the past six months reach that of Q1 and Q2 combined.
Altogether, global automobile production rose slightly by 2.8% to 87.2m light vehicles, said the release. Against that backdrop three of the company’s four business groups increased sales in local currencies, the press release said.
While European sales volumes “only just matched those of the previous year” it said, North American showed “only modest growth.”
In Asia, Autoneum once again achieved significant sales growth in local currencies and well exceeded market growth due to a rise in production volumes among global customers. Despite the slump in the market in Brazil and Argentina, sales in the SAMEA market region - South Asia, Middle East and Africa - were up.
