Hella reports strong six-month figures

Automotive supplier Hella has announced positive sales and earning for the first six months of its fiscal year 2018/2019.

Currency and portfolio-adjusted consolidated sales rose by 7.3%. Taking into account exchange rate effects and the divestment of the wholesale distribution business, the reported sales increased by 2.8% to €3.6bn.

The adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) increased during the six-month period by 5.5% to €302m. Particularly in light of the divestment of the wholesale distribution business, the reported EBIT increased significantly to €537m. The reported EBIT margin therefore is 15.1%.

CEO Dr. Rolf Breidenbach said, ‘We now have a challenging first half-year that was marked by further increases in market uncertainty and high fluctuations in demand, behind us. Our increase in sales and earnings shows that to date, we have been able to compensate for these challenges. This is proof of the resilience and good strategic alignment of our business model along major automotive market trends such as autonomous driving, electromobility and digitisation. Still, we have to expect that the headwinds will continue to increase in the months to come.’

The group-wide increase in sales was supported in particular by the automotive segment in the first half-year, which grew by 8.1% to €2.9bn. The increased sales were primarily the result of continued high demand for lighting systems and electronics solutions, especially in the driver assistance systems and energy management areas.

The adjusted EBIT of the segment increased to €244m.

In the aftermarket segment, without taking the sold wholesale distribution business activities into account, sales increased by 4.5% to €336m in the first half-year.

The business with sophisticated workshop equipment, such as emissions testing devices and beamsetters, in particular, supported sales growth. Adjusted EBIT of the segment remains at the prior-year level with €25m.