Schaeffler Group said it “made a solid start to 2013, despite the challenging market environment”. Revenue fell “slightly” to approximately EUR2.8bn compared to the “very strong first quarter of 2012 due to market conditions”. EBIT margin was 12.9%.
“We successfully remained on course in the first quarter of 2013 despite the still challenging market environment, improving both revenue and net income over those of the previous two quarters. It was mainly the positive trend in the automotive division that enabled us to maintain our profitability at a high level”, said CEO Juergen Geissinger.
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Revenue for the first three months of 2013 declined by 3.6% to EUR2.8bn compared to the prior year quarter. Revenue in the automotive division increased by about 3% to approximately EUR2.0bn.
The company generated EBIT of EUR355m (prior year: EUR401m). Net income for the period was EUR233m (EUR235m).
Outlook for 2013
Schaeffler expects economic conditions in many markets will remain challenging, but that the economy may regain moderate momentum over the course of the year.
Geissinger said: “Although we are not anticipating a quick recovery of the European markets, we are expecting a modest increase in global automobile production for 2013.”
“Although we are currently operating in a very volatile environment, we continue to see solid growth opportunities for our business worldwide. Therefore, we are maintaining our forecast and still expect to achieve our targets for 2013 as a whole,” Geissinger added.
