Plymouth, Michigan — First-quarter 2019 sales at automotive seat maker Adient will be $4.2 bn, level with the same period in 2018, said the company in a statement.
Q1 2019 sales flat, EBITDA down at Adient
Del Grosso: building a crack team
Adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter of 2019 will be around $175 m, down about 34% on the first quarter of 2018.
The company said it expects earnings to improve in the second half of 2019 compared to the first half. This is because of the current operating environment, and the timing of product turnarounds, it said.
'After completing a comprehensive assessment during the first 100 days of my tenure, we are taking actions to improve our financial performance,' said Doug Del Grosso, CEO.
Del Grosso added that a strong management team is being assembled that is aligned with turning the business around and reducing overheads. '[We will focus] relentlessly on commercial and operational excellence,' he said. 'We expect to see the benefits of these actions in the second half of fiscal 2019.'
He also pledged to achieve 'industry-leading margins' over the longer term.
Finally, Adient said it is talking to its banks about refinancing its credit facilities, and some possible portfolio changes.
The full first-quarter 2019 financial results are expected to be announced on 7 February 2019.
In addition, the European Commission has announced that it had approved an aircraft seating joint venture between Boeing and Adient.
