Southfield, Michigan — Automotive seating company, Lear had record sales of $20.5 bn in 2017 up 10% on the previous year.
This translated into record net income of $1.3 bn compared to $975 m in 2016.
Seat maker Lear sees 10% sales hike in 2017
Simoncini: strong position
‘We are in the strongest overall competitive position in our history,’ said Matt Simoncini, Lear’s president.
Lear said that excluding the impact of foreign exchange, sales were up 9% in 2017. The sales increase reflects the addition of new business and acquisition of Grupo Antolin’s seating business in Europe. The Antolin purchase completed in May 2017.
The Antolin purchase further strengthened our market share with key European customers and expanded our seat component capabilities, said the firm.
The company says that industry estimates suggest that in 2018 North American vehicle production will rise by 2% to 17.4 m units, Europe will reach 23.4 m units up 2% and China at 26.5 m units will see a 1% increase in production.
The company said that it expects its sales in 2018 to be between $21.4 bn and $21.6 bn. It expects operating earnings to be between $1.75 bn and $1.78 bn.
