Forvia’s Q1 Sales totalled €5.1bn with organic growth across all regions except China. Despite decreasing by 2.2 per cent compared to 2025, the evolution of revenues outperformed by 1.2 per cent the market volume decreasing itself by 3.4 per cent, with electronics supporting growth cluster performance and good commercial momentum in high-growth regions and segment with accelerated development in India and customer diversification in China.
Lighting organic sales were down 7.3 per cent: In Europe and North America, end of programs with German OEMs were not offset by new launches. Conversely, growth was close to double-digit in China, supported by ongoing development with Chinese OEMs, notably Geely.
Lighting is confirmed in Forvia’s value portfolio, meaning prioritizing cash generation. However, in 2025, for revenues at €3.6 bn, the operating margin of lighting was at 2.9 per cent, so Forvia are targeting an improvement of competitivity.
Forvia Q1 global sales by region:
Forvia Q1 sales by segment:
The Group confirm their 2026 guidance:
- Sales between €20bn and €21bn, at constant exchange rates (€21.3bn in 2025 after IFRS 5 restatement)
- Operating margin between 6.0 per cent and 6.5 per cent of sales (6.0 per cent in 2025 after IFRS 5 restatement)
- Net cashflow of at least 3.0 per cent of sales (3.9 per cent in 2025 after IFRS 5 restatement, excluding factoring variations)
- Net debt/adjusted EBITDA ratio at 1.5× as of December 31, 2026 (1.7× at end 2025, before IFRS 5).
For the perimeter of Forvia Hella, including lighting, electronics (now the largest segment for Hella) and lifecycle, the operating income in the first quarter of 2026 totalled €96m (prior year: €109m), with an operating income margin of 5.0 per cent (prior year: 5.5 per cent). The quarter closes with an improved net result of €32m (prior year: €24m). Net cashflow improved to -€49m (prior year: -€61m); relative to sales, net cash flow increased to -2.5 per cent (prior year: -3.0 per cent).
