PARIS — Faurecia reported a rise in annual profits and sales, and said it was targeting further growth for 2020 even though market conditions would be challenging this year.
Faurecia said in a statement that annual operating income for 2019 had risen by 0.7 percent from the previous year to 1.28 billion euros ($1.4 billion).
Sales rose 1.4 percent to 17.77 billion euros ($19.3 billion) and Faurecia’s operating margin stood at 7.2 percent, while its net cash flow rose 11 percent from last year to 587 million euros ($636 million).
The company also raised its 2020 dividend to 1.30 euros from 1.25 euros in 2019.
Faurecia bought Japanese electronics company Clarion last year, adding to collaborations with Michelin, Microsoft and ZF Friedrichshafen
For 2020, Faurecia said it was targeting more sales growth and a further improvement in profitability, with a target of achieving an operating margin of above 7.2 percent of sales and net cash flow of more than 500 million euros ($542 million).
Last November, Faurecia said it was targeting sales of more than 20.5 billion euros ($22.2 billion) by 2022.
Faurecia’s 2020 outlook was based on the assumption that worldwide automotive production would fall by 3 percent compared to 2019, although the company said this outlook did not factor in any hits to the global supply chain from the coronavirus.
“2020 should be another challenging year in terms of market conditions. We expect, at this stage, a drop of about 3 percent in worldwide automotive production,” said CEO Patrick Koller.
“We have the appropriate plans in place to improve our performance. We will remain focused on resilience and cash generation. Our guidance is fully aligned with our medium-term vision and ambitions presented last November at our Capital Markets Day,” Koller said.
Separately, Faurecia said on Monday it hopes to re-open seven sites in China this Friday that were closed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Faurecia ranks No. 9 on the Automotive News list of the top 100 global suppliers with estimated worldwide sales to automakers of $20.66 billion in 2018.
