Commercial vehicle braking specialist Knorr-Bremse booked EBITDA of EUR669m in the first six months of 2019, up 14.9% compared with EUR582m a year previously.
EBITDA margin was 18.6% versus 17.5%.
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EBIT rose in the first half of 2019 by 12.9% to EUR533m, compared with EUR472m. EBIT margin was 14.8%, up 0.6 percentage points.
Revenue rose 8.4% to EUR3,602m, compared with EUR3,322m in H1 2018.
CFO Ralph Heuwing said: “After a highly successful start to 2019, we posted the best half-year revenues in our company’s history despite a difficult market environment and one of the best half-year earnings.
“Overall, we are highly satisfied with the company’s performance and confirm our guidance for the full year. We are nevertheless taking precautionary measures with regard to efficiency and cost control in order to safeguard our competitiveness and profitability.”
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By GlobalDataIncoming orders increased 1.8% in the first to EUR3,581m, compared with EUR3,517m in the first half of 2018.
The order book reached EUR4,542m, compared with EUR4,372m at the end of the first half of 2018.
Revenues in the commercial vehicle services (CVS) division grew by 9.5%, from EUR1,577 in the first half of 2018 to EUR1,727m.
A worldwide increase in content per vehicle, gains in market share and positive currency effects made for substantial growth relative to the truck production rate, which was slightly down year on year.
The supplier said there were initial signs of a market slowdown among commercial vehicle manufacturers, given substantial reductions in incoming orders, which might lead to weaker demand growth for suppliers in North America and Europe during the next year. In this environment, the CVS division performed significantly better than the general demand trend and the competition, it said.
Revenue growth in the first half of 2019 mainly related to positive performance in North America and the Asia region. The European business, on the other hand, showed a mixed picture with growth in the OE business and a slight decrease in aftermarket revenues. Business performance in the Asian market was positive due to increased content per vehicle, gains in market share and the revenue contribution from the Hitachi Automotive acquisition in Japan, which was included in the consolidated financial statements for the first time.
OEM business grew globally by three percentage points to 78% of divisional revenues (H1 2018: 75%). The aftermarket share of revenues decreased to 22% (H1 2018: 25%) due to inventory optimisation efforts by customers.
CVS increased EBITDA in the first half of 2019 by 1.8% to EUR264m, compared with EUR260m in the first half of 2018. EBITDA margin correspondingly amounted to 15.3%, down from 16.5% a year earlier..
Knorr-Bremse confirmed guidance for 2019. The company expects revenues of EUR6,875– EUR7,075m (2018: EUR6,616m) and an operating EBITDA margin, before restructuring expenses, in the range 18.5%–19.5% (17.8%).
