Written by Nathan Fevlin
(Reuters) – French auto parts supplier Forvia cut its annual sales and profit forecasts for the second time in three months on Friday, reflecting weakness in European and North American markets and a delay in China.
“We have lost, compared to last year, about 2 million cars, and this may rise until the end of this year. This gap is concentrated in the second half,” CEO Patrick Kohler said of the decline in global demand for cars during a conference call. .
Forvia expects its sales to range between 26.8 billion and 27.2 billion euros ($29.9 billion and $30.4 billion) this year, instead of the minimum of 27.5 billion to 28.5 billion euros previously. It expects an operating margin of 5.0% to 5.3% of sales, down from 5.6% to 6.4% initially.
The company, which last cut its annual targets in July due to weak auto demand and slowing electrification trends, said it would accelerate its plans to cut jobs in Europe.
Of the 10,000 planned cuts, it expects to implement more than 2,800 by the end of the year, with a cumulative headcount reduction of 5,800 by the end of 2025. She said the majority of the cuts, which were originally scheduled to take place from 2024 to 2028, will be completed. By the end of 2027.
“The goal is clearly acceleration. That’s why we state that more than 90% will be implemented one year before the end of the project, which indicates acceleration,” Kohler said.
Forvia supplies automakers such as Stellantis (NYSE:), Volkswagen (ETR:) and…
Its shares rose 4.8% by 0746 GMT, becoming the second largest gainer on the French SBF 120 index after changing course from the initial decline. At the same time, the automobiles and spare parts sub-index in the European index rose by 1.7%.
($1 = 0.8959 euros)