Based on provisional figures and thanks to the turnaround achieved in North America, Autoneum expects an EBIT margin excluding special effects for the 2023 financial year at the upper end of the guidance of 3.5% to 4.5% and a free cash flow of well over CHF 100 million excluding acquisition-related net cash outflows, which exceeds the guidance.

The automobile industry picked up again in the 2023 financial year. According to market forecasts3, there was a significant rise in production volumes worldwide, with 90.1 million vehicles produced globally (2022: 82.4 million vehicles) and growth of 9.4%, driven by the Europe, North America and Asia regions. In this market environment, Autoneum achieved acquisition-related growth in local currencies of 27.6%. Organic growth was 7.2%, resulting in total revenue growth of 34.8% in local currencies. Excluding the negative foreign currency translation effects due to a strong Swiss franc of CHF 129.4 million, revenue was CHF 2 431.7 million and thus within the guidance. In absolute terms, Autoneum increased revenue at the Group level consolidated in Swiss francs by CHF 497.8 million to CHF 2 302.3 million (2022: CHF 1 804.5 million).

Revenue development in the regions

In Europe and North America, the significant rise in revenue compared to the previous year was mainly due to the acquisition of Borgers Automotive as well as to higher market volumes and price adjustments. Business Group Europe’s revenue consolidated in Swiss francs was up sharply, climbing by 74.2% over the previous year. As a result of the newly acquired Borgers units, acquisition-related growth was 69.3%. In local currencies, organic growth was 9.3%. Business Group North America significantly boosted revenue consolidated in Swiss francs by 12.7% compared to the previous year, with acquisition-related growth of 10.2% and organic growth of 7.2%. Business Group Asia’s revenue consolidated in Swiss francs decreased by 11.1%, mainly because of negative foreign currency effects. Excluding these translation effects, revenue was at about the same level as the previous year. Acquisition-related growth was 3.3%, while organic revenue in local currencies declined by 4.2%. Business Group SAMEA recorded revenue growth in local currencies of 22.1%, which was primarily due to inflation-related price increases. Persistent sharp declines in the value of various local currencies in this region led to a decrease in revenue consolidated in Swiss francs of 9.6%.