The industrial and automotive supplier Schaeffler presented its results for the 2020 financial year at its Annual General Meeting. At 12.6 billion euros, the Group's revenue was -10.6% below the previous year at constant currency (2019: 14.427 billion euros). All divisions were affected by the negative development. However, there were signs of recovery in the 4th quarter compared to the first half of the year.

Earnings continue to be impacted by the transformation and efficiency programs RACE (Automotive Technologies), GRIP (Automotive Aftermarket) and FIT (Industrial). In addition, there was an impairment of goodwill allocated to the Automotive Technologies division. This all led to an EBIT of EUR -143 million (2019: EUR 790 million). The EBIT margin was 6.4% (previous year: 8.1%); a sign that the measures taken as part of the divisional programs and cost adjustments are having an effect.

The Annual General Meeting voted in favor of paying a dividend of 25 cents per preference share (previous year: 45 cents). This corresponds to a payout ratio of around 50% (previous year: around 43%) in relation to the consolidated net profit attributable to shareholders before special items and is therefore at the upper end of the targeted range of 30 to 50%. Klaus Rosenfeld, CEO of Schaeffler, sees this distribution as a positive signal to shareholders.

Growth in the 1st quarter of 2021

After last year's slump, Schaeffler reports overall growth in the new financial year. At EUR 3.560 bn, the group's revenue for the first quarter was 11.2 % above prior year at constant currency (prior year; restated: EUR 3.281 bn), showing a significant recovery. The EBIT margin before special items reached 11.3% in the first quarter (previous year; adjusted: 6.5%). Free cash flow before cash inflows and outflows for M&A activities amounted to 130 million euros in the first quarter (previous year; adjusted: 137 million euros). One of the main reasons for this is the better-than-expected sales momentum in the first quarter, particularly in China. The earnings trend also shows that the cost adjustments introduced last year are continuing to have an effect.

Industrial up after slump in sales

The Industrial division's product portfolio includes rolling and plain bearing solutions, linear technology, maintenance products, monitoring systems and direct drive technology. At €3.138 billion, the division generated currency-adjusted sales of -9.2% less than in the previous year (2019: €3.535 billion).

The individual sectors developed differently. The wind sector cluster in particular achieved sales growth, especially in the Greater China region, where currency-adjusted sales rose by 18.1% from € 723 million in 2019 to € 840 million in the past financial year. However, this growth was not sufficient to compensate for the sharp drop in global demand. In Europe, sales fell from 1.627 billion euros to 1.319 billion euros (-18.6% adjusted for currency effects).

Growth with new products and in the service business

In addition to the continuous expansion of the core business with bearings and linear technology, the increasing automation in industrial processes offers growth potential for Schaeffler. With a modular portfolio of bearing supports, robot gearboxes and drive motors, the Industrial division is further expanding its expertise in lightweight robotics. These system components help determine the performance of compact robots and have the potential for leaps in development.

The demand for automation and reliability is also increasing in the area of services. With the IoT solution Optime, Schaeffler offers a solution that makes condition monitoring of machines in production processes efficient and cost-effective. During the Hannover Messe, this solution was honored with the Red Dot Design Award in two categories for its outstanding product design, functional design and high degree of innovation.