In the first half of fiscal year 2019/2020 (June to November 2019), Hella sales dropped 3.2% to €3.3bn, and adjusted earnings (adjusted EBIT) are €257m—down from €296m. This substantial reduction is largely due to extraordinary income booked in the prior year from the sale of the wholesale business.
CEO Dr. Rolf Breidenbach says “Given the challenging market environment, our sales and earnings declined as expected in the first half of the year. However, we once again outperformed the market, which speaks to the attractiveness of our products and the strength of Hella’s business model. Overall, we are satisfied with the development of our business”.
The reported sales in the automotive segment decreased in the first half of the fiscal year by 1.6% to €2.8bn, a decrease was largely attributable to a worldwide decline in light vehicle production, which shrank by 6.1% in the half-year period. Reported sales in the aftermarket segment dropped by 3.8% from €336m to €323m (down from €336m YoY), while reported sales in the Special Applications segment decreased 10.2% in the half-year period to €183m, mainly as a result of market weakness in the business for agricultural and construction vehicles and for buses and trailers.
After the first half-year, Hella confirm their guidance for the full fiscal year 2019/2020. “The market environment remains very challenging. A strong, sustained recovery is not likely to emerge in 2020,” said Breidenbach. For the current fiscal year, Hella expect sales of around €6.5bn to €7bn and an EBIT margin between 6.5% and 7.5%.
