Automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler has presented its figures for the first quarter of the current 2024 financial year. At 4.085 billion euros, revenue for the first three months was below the prior-year level at constant currency (Q1/2023: 4.152 billion euros). In the first three months, the Group generated EBIT before special items of EUR 322 million (Q1/2023: EUR 335 million). At 7.9%, the EBIT margin before special items was slightly below the previous year's level (Q1/2023: 8.1%), which was partly due to the at-equity contribution from the first-time inclusion of the 38.9% stake in the Vitesco Technologies Group.

In the reporting period, earnings were positively impacted by special effects amounting to EUR 93 million net, which were mainly due to an accounting-related change in estimates in the valuation of Group-wide inventories. EBIT including special effects increased by 70.3% to € 415 million (Q1/2023: € 244 million). Consolidated net profit attributable to the shareholders of the parent company, which amounted to EUR 231 million in the first quarter of 2024, also saw a significant improvement of 79.7% compared to the previous year (Q1/2023: EUR 128 million).

Currency-adjusted sales in the Europe region fell by 0.4%. The Americas region achieved currency-adjusted sales growth of 4.2%, while currency-adjusted sales in the Greater China and Asia/Pacific regions were down 3.6% and 0.5% on the previous year.

Outlook confirmed

The Management Board has confirmed its outlook for the financial year. It continues to expect significant revenue growth at constant currency with an EBIT margin before special items of 6% to 9% and free cash flow before cash in- and outflows for M&A activities of EUR 300 to 400 million.

In light of the organizational adjustments planned in 2024 in connection with the merger of Vitesco, Schaeffler is not providing an outlook for the development of the individual divisions.

The divisions at a glance

As of January 1, 2024, the "Bearings" division was transferred from the "Automotive Technologies" division to the "Bearings & Industrial Solutions" division, previously Industrial. The "Automotive Aftermarket" business was renamed "Vehicle Lifetime Solutions". The Bearings & Industrial Solutions division reported a decline in sales in the first quarter, but this was offset by the Automotive business.

The Bearings & Industrial Solutions division recorded a currency-adjusted decline in sales of 4.1% to EUR 1.677 billion (Q1/2023: EUR 1.787 billion). In the first quarter, the division generated EBIT before special items of 143 million euros (Q1/2023: 159 million euros). The EBIT margin before special items was 8.5% (Q1/2023: 8.9%). The slight decline in the EBIT margin before special items was due in particular to volume effects.

While the Europe region reported a currency-adjusted decline in sales of 5.4%, sales in the Americas region rose by 4.1% in the reporting period after adjusting for currency effects, mainly due to the increase in sales in the Aerospace sector cluster and in Automotive Bearings. In the Greater China region, sales in the first three months were down 9.8% on the previous year after adjusting for currency effects. The weak market environment had a significant negative impact on sales development. Declines were reported in the wind sector cluster in particular. The Asia/Pacific region reported a currency-adjusted decline in sales of 2.6% in the reporting period.

On an adjusted basis, the Automotive Technologies division generated sales revenue of EUR 1.770 billion in the first three months of the year (Q1/2023: EUR 1.778 billion). The slight currency-adjusted growth in sales revenue of 0.8% was primarily due to the ramp-up of projects and outperformed global automotive production overall. This growth is primarily attributable to volume increases from the ramp-up of projects in the E-mobility and Chassis Systems divisions. Incoming orders in the first quarter totaled EUR 2.1 billion; EUR 1.5 billion was attributable to the E-Mobility division. EBIT before special items amounted to 93 million euros (Q1/2023: 87 million euros) and the EBIT margin was 5.3% (Q1/2023: 4.9%)

The Vehicle Lifetime Solutions division increased its sales by 8.6% after adjusting for currency effects to 625 million euros (Q1/2023: 581 million euros). EBIT before special items amounted to 109 million euros (Q1/2023: 90 million euros) and the EBIT margin was 17.4% (Q1/2023: 15.4%).

Klaus Rosenfeld, CEO of Schaeffler AG: "The positive results in the Automotive Technologies and Vehicle Lifetime Solutions divisions have successfully compensated for the market-related downward trend in the Industrial business. We are maintaining our outlook for the year as a whole."