Faurecia is the latest big automotive supplier to report upbeat financial results as the industry feels the benefits of a demand rebound in 2021, in spite of the volume constraints the chips shortage has created.
Faurecia reported first half sales of EUR7.8bn, up 32% on an organic basis. It also said a solid order intake of EUR12bn in H1 2021 means it is on track to reach the targeted EUR26bn sales in 2021.
Operating income in H1 totalled EUR509.8m, or 6.6% of sales, compared to a loss of EUR99.6m last year.
The company also reported strong operating leverage and cash generation in H1 and said net cash flow for the year would be over EUR500m (previous guidance: EUR500m).
Faurecia CEO Patrick Koller said: “We delivered a strong performance in H1, despite two main adverse effects: the shortage of semiconductors and raw material inflation. I would like to thank all Faurecia teams for this performance.
“Our operations proved again very resilient with strong operating margin of 6.6% of sales, demonstrating our efficient leverage. We delivered strong net cash flow of 290 million euros and recorded a solid order intake of 12 billion euros, reflecting our potential for accelerating profitable growth.
“We are convinced that automotive production has hit a low in Q2 and should gradually rebound in the coming quarters, despite shortage of semiconductors likely to last until the end of H1 2022. In this context, we will pay strict attention to cost flexibilization and cash generation, thus allowing deleveraging and profitable growth.”