Schaeffler confirms group guidance

According to that guidance, Schaeffler is forecasting revenue growth of 5 to 6 percent at constant currency, an EBIT margin before special items of 10.5 to 11.5 percent, and free cash flow before inflows and outflows for M&A activities of approximately EUR 450 million.

Based on current projections, Schaeffler is now forecasting the Automotive OEM division’s revenue to grow by 4.5 to 5.5 percent at constant currency (previously 6 to 7 percent), reflecting market conditions. This adjustment is driven by lower demand in the regions Greater China and Europe. At the same time, the group is now forecasting its Industrial division’s revenue to grow by 8 to 9 percent at constant currency (previously 6 to 7 percent) on the back of positive performance and increased order intake. On this basis, the Industrial division’s EBIT margin before special items is expected to be in the 10 to 11 percent range (previously 9 to 10 percent), while the EBIT margin before special items for the Automotive OEM division is expected to be in the 8.5 to 9.5 percent range (previously 9.5 to 10.5 percent).

The group’s Automotive Aftermarket division remains on track to achieve its originally advised constant-currency revenue growth of 3 to 4 percent and EBIT margin before special items of 16.5 to 17.5 percent.

With regard to the Automotive Aftermarket and Industrial divisions, the Schaeffler Group expects to finish the full year at the upper ends of the above-stated margin ranges.

Klaus Rosenfeld, Schaeffler AG CEO, said in advance of the group’s September 20 Capital Markets Day (CMD): “As already mentioned after the second quarter, we are operating in a challenging environment in the automotive business. Nevertheless, on the back of the strong performance of the Industrial division we can confirm our group guidance for the full year. This is possible because we are both an automotive and an industrial supplier.”

At the CMD, Schaeffler will present its strategy and for the first time introduce each of its three divisions. The event is aimed exclusively at financial analysts and institutional investors. The presentations making up the event will be published on Schaeffler’s corporate website at 7 a.m. CET on September 20.