Vitesco Technologies reports sales of 1.99 billion Euro, down 13.9 percent in first quarter

Vitesco Technologies, a leading international provider of modern drive technologies and electrification solutions for sustainable mobility, published its first quarter 2024 results today.

Group sales in the first quarter came in at €1.99 billion (Q1 2023: €2.31 billion), which equates to a year-on-year decline of 13.9 percent. Adjusted for changes in the scope of consolidation and exchange-rate effects, sales were 7.5 percent lower.

The core business contributed €1.57 billion (Q1 2023: €1.60 billion) to total sales, whereas the non-core business generated sales of €423.0 million (Q1 2023: €713.1 million). The decline in sales at the start of the year was mainly attributable to the planned reduction in Contract Manufacturing for Continental.

Adjusted EBIT was at €33.0 million (Q1 2023: €30.8 million), which equates to an adjusted EBIT margin of 1.7 percent (Q1 2023: 1.4 percent). 

Consolidated net income for the period amounted to €22.7 million (Q1 2023: -€50.7 million) and earnings per share to €0.57 (Q1 2023: -€1.27).

Free cash flow stood at -€90.6 million (Q1 2023: -€41.1 million). The main reasons for this are the planned settlements of advance payment by Continental and the mutual decline in Contract Manufacturing combined with the contractually agreed adjustment of payment terms.

Capital expenditures1 on property, plant, equipment, and software amounted to €84.4 million (Q1 2023: €98.0 million). The ratio of capital expenditures to sales was therefore 4.2 percent (Q1 2023: 4.2 percent).

The Powertrain Solutions division generated sales of €1.27 billion in the first quarter of 2024 (Q1 2023: €1.61 billion). In the same period, the division’s adjusted EBIT rose to €113.8 million (Q1 2023: €109.2 million), which equates to an improved adjusted EBIT margin of 8.9 percent (Q1 2023: 7.3 percent).

The planned reduction in Contract Manufacturing for Continental as well as discontinued activities, particularly in the non-core business, contributed to the division’s decline in sales but improvement in earnings.

Sales generated by the Electrification Solutions division increased year on year to €732.2 million in the first quarter of 2024 (Q1 2023: €716.8 million). This equates to sales growth of 2.1 percent.

With ramp-up costs for electrification products remaining at a high level, the division’s adjusted EBIT came in at -€71.7 million (Q1 2023:  -€71.6 million), which corresponds to an adjusted EBIT margin of -9.8 percent (Q1 2023: -10.0 percent). 

Vitesco Technologies expects the market environment to remain challenging in the second quarter of 2024. Despite expected improvements in the electromobility market, there is still the potential of geopolitical uncertainty to cause shifts in demand and disruption in supply chains.

The market outlook and the Group’s full year forecast for 2024 are unchanged compared with the expectations published at the 2024 annual press conference. As with the outlook in relation to global vehicle production, all assumptions continue to entail a high level of uncertainty.