Valeo separately reported that global sales in the third quarter were 4.39 billion euros ($5.16 billion), a decrease of 8 percent from the third quarter in 2019, but it revised forecasts for the second half upward after a sharp rebound in production in the quarter.
Aschenbroich cited strict cost controls and a rebound in China for the improved outlook.
“The measures implemented have enabled the group to reduce structural costs in all our host countries and across all our businesses,” he said in a statement.
At the end of September, Valeo reached a cost-cutting agreement with two French unions that guarantees no factory closures or forced layoffs for the next two years.
Valeo said in a statement on third quarter sales that it had outperformed production by four percentage points in the first nine months of the year.
The supplier’s strongest categories were cameras and other driving-assistance products, 48-volt mild hybrid components, and LED lighting systems.
Automotive production will fall 3 percent in the second half, Valeo said, in revising upward its forecasts.
The supplier is predicting that earnings before interests, depreciation, taxes and amortization will be 12 percent of sales, up from an earlier forecast of “around 10 percent of sales.”
It is also expecting free cash flow of more than 600 million euros, up from an earlier forecast of more than 400 million euros.
Valeo ranks No. 10 on the Automotive News list of the top 100 global suppliers, with worldwide sales to automakers of $18 billion in 2019. The Paris-based company makes components for automated and connected driving, electric powertrain systems, thermal systems, wipers, and connectors and sensors.
