Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc. has reported operating income for the fiscal first quarter of $US14.8 million, down from $28.2 million a year earlier.
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For the quarter, the company reported a net loss of $7.7 million, compared with a year earlier profit of $1.1 million.
Sales for the fiscal first quarter ended April 30 rose 4.0% to $618.0 million, compared with $594.0 million a year earlier.
“Despite reduced volume in the U.S., we had strong growth in our international business — particularly in Europe where we have become the number one automotive steel and aluminium wheel supplier to Toyota, and the number one aluminium wheel supplier to Honda and Nissan/Renault — which fueled our increased sales in the quarter,” said CEO and chairman Curtis Clawson. “Our international diversification continues to pay dividends, as international sales rose 19.9% to $325.6 million compared to $271.5 million a year earlier, and accounted for 53% of our total sales in the recent quarter compared with 46% a year earlier.”
“Unfortunately, production requirements from some US auto producers were down 10% in the fiscal first quarter from the same period a year ago, reflecting sharply decreased demand for larger vehicles, which happen to be key platforms for Hayes Lemmerz,” added Clawson.
“There’s no denying that this is a difficult time for automotive components manufacturers, but the steps we have taken in the past few years to reduce operating costs, diversify geographically, and focus on meeting customer needs have all contributed to our current results, which I consider exemplary given market conditions.”
