Gentex Corp.’s net sales took only a small hit in the first quarter, but the company still lowered its full-year guidance amid the coronavirus pandemic, Gentex said Friday.
The Zeeland, Mich., supplier of high-tech rearview mirrors and cameras said net sales fell 3 percent to $453.8 million in the first quarter of 2020.
Gentex joins Nemak, Faurecia, Veoneer and other suppliers that are starting to report earnings during the crisis. Several other suppliers are expected to post their results over the next few weeks.
The company said shutdowns in Asia, Europe and North America as a result of COVID-19 slashed net sales by about $40 million in the first quarter.
Gentex posted a net income of $89.5 million, down 14 percent from a net income of $104.3 in the same period last year.
Gross margin for the quarter was 34.5 percent, compared with a gross margin of 36.2 percent last year.
Gentex said for the first quarter, product mix improved, which partially offset some of the sales losses and price reductions from the pandemic. The improvement in product mix was primarily driven by its Full Display Mirror and exterior-mirror growth.
In North America, shipments of total mirror units — interior and exterior mirrors — fell 6 percent to 3.2 million.
For Gentex’s international business, shipments of total mirror units saw a 1 percent decrease to 7.1 million.
“For the first two months of the first quarter, top-line revenue growth was progressing in line with our forecasts, with modest negative impacts coming from reductions in China as a result of the pandemic,” Gentex CEO Steve Downing said in a statement. “By mid-March, the pandemic was negatively affecting European OEMs more significantly, and then the North American production environment was brought to a grinding halt. The vast majority of the $40 million shortfall in sales occurred during the last two weeks of March.”
Much like most major auto suppliers, Gentex has been implementing some health and safety measures as a result of the virus. The company also bolstered its cash position and drew down $75 million on its $150 million line of credit, with the ability to draw an additional $75 million as needed.
