Swedish auto safety systems specialist Autoliv has reported a year on year decline in first quarter consolidated net sales of 49% to US$927m due to a 45% drop in North American and west European light vehicle production.
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The supplier booked an operating loss of $73m and a negative operating margin of 7.8% before severance and other restructuring costs.
The company said it managed to offset the larger than expected drop in light vehicle production and reach guidance from February thanks to more aggressive cost reduction measures, including cutting 4,000 additional workers during the quarter, and almost 10,000 (or 23%) since last summer.
Including severance and restructuring costs of $16m, Autoliv reported an operating loss of $89m, a loss before taxes of $104m, a net loss of $64m and loss per share of $0.90.
For the second quarter, it expects a decline in consolidated net sales in the range of 40-45% with organic sales declining by more than 30% and a negative operating margin of less than 3% excluding restructuring costs and major customer defaults.
During the quarter, global light vehicle production (LVP) is estimated by CSM and JD Power to have declined by 36% while LVP in North America, Europe and Japan, where Autoliv generates close to 90% of its sales, dropped by approximately 45% compared to the same quarter in 2008.
