Visteon's first quarter 2019 net income fell to $14m or $0.49 per share compared with $65m or $2.11 a year earlier.
A $77m plunge in sales to $737m from $814m was due primarily, the supplier said, to unfavourable vehicle production volumes, customer pricing net of design changes, and unfavourable currency, partially offset by new business.
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Gross margin was $66m compared with $129m due mainly to lower sales, "launch challenges with a curved centre information display", inefficiencies associated with a plant transfer in Mexico, and timing of engineering expense, Visteon said.
During the quarter, vehicle manufacturers awarded Visteon new business worth $1.4bn in lifetime sales.
New business win growth was driven by digital products, primarily all-digital clusters, advanced displays and SmartCore. US-based vehicle manufacturers accounted for half of the first quarter total.
"Sales were in line with our expectations, despite the challenging vehicle production environment," said Visteon president and CEO Sachin Lawande.
"The operational challenges that affected our margins are expected to diminish and be largely resolved in the second and third quarters.
"Our new business wins were strong and well-aligned with key industry technology trends, with one-third for electric vehicles including battery management systems. We are also pleased to extend our success in the commercial vehicle segment with the addition of a second heavy-duty truck customer."
Visteon updated its full-year 2019 guidance with sales in the range of $2.9bn to $3bn and adjusted EBITDA in the range of $245m to $270m.
