Magna International has announced its financial outlook for 2018 and 2020, saying it expects to grow sales at a faster rate than that of global vehicle production.
CE Don Walker said: "The pace of change in the automotive industry continues to accelerate, and we remain at the forefront, investing to further strengthen our position as an innovator and provider of solutions for our customers. These investments should drive business awards in the future and position us to continue building long-term value for shareholders. We expect to deliver above-market growth through 2020 and beyond driven by our portfolio of products tied to vehicle electrification, light weighting, safety and autonomous driving"
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Magna expects North American vehicle output to remain steady at 17.4m in both 2018 and 2020 with Europe output at 22.3m in 2018 and 22.9m in 2020.
It expects Body Exteriors & Structures sales of US$16.6 – $17.4bn in 2018 and $17.3 – $18.3bn in 2020.
The Power & Vision forecast is $11.8 – $12.4bn and $12.5 – $13.3bn respectively.
Seating Systems sales are forecast at $5.3 – $5.7bn and $6.5 – $7.0bn.
For its Magna Steyr contract assembly operation, Magna expecst Complete Vehicles sales of $6.0 – $6.4bn in 2018 and $6.8 – $7.5bn in 2020.
Total Sales are forecast at $39.3 – $41.5bn and $42.7 – $45.7bn respectively.
The supplier expects EBIT margin of 7.9% – 8.2% in 2018 and 8.5% – 8.9% in 2020.
Net income is pegged at $2.3 – $2.5bn for 2018
CFO Vince Galif said: "We remain focused on striking a balance between investing for the future and improving both returns on capital and free cash flow conversion. In the short term, margins will be affected somewhat by our investments for the future related to electrification and autonomous driving. In addition, the significant growth of our Complete Vehicles business will impact margins, as anticipated. Nevertheless, we expect to generate over $6bn in free cash flow between 2018 and 2020, which is more than 25% of our current market capitalisation."
