Nexteer Automotive today reported annual results for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2019. The Company’s 2019 financial results were impacted by various environmental challenges including lower OEM light vehicle production across all regions, led by a decline in China, a GM-UAW labor strike in North America interrupting vehicle production, reduced revenue from a North America customer’s vehicle platform transition and unfavorable foreign currency.
Nexteer reported 2019 revenue of US$3.576 billion which was lower by 8.6% when compared with 2018. Profit attributable to equity holders for the year was US$232.4 million, a reduction of 38.8% compared with 2018, largely reflecting the impact of lower revenue. During 2019, Nexteer generated US$117.9 million in cash flow from operating activities less cash used for investing activities and the balance sheet remained strong at December 31, 2019. Nexteer’s Backlog of Booked Business stood at US$26.4 billion at the end of 2019 – a 4.4% increase year-over-year from 2018.
“While the macro environment broadly impacted the automotive industry in 2019, united as a strong and resilient One Nexteer team, we navigated the year’s challenging landscape and continued to position Nexteer for future success. As a leader in intuitive motion control, we are focused on winning the long game and believe our strategies for profitable growth will benefit Nexteer and our shareholders over the long-term,” said Guibin Zhao, CEO of Nexteer Automotive.
Strong Bookings & Backlog
Despite headwinds, Nexteer achieved strong performance in bookings, new business conquests and backlog. Nexteer secured US$7.0 billion in new bookings of which 50 percent were conquest awards. Notable expansion was achieved in Europe with a breakthrough Dual Pinion EPS customer win – a global first in this EPS architecture – secured in 2019. Nexteer also grew its backlog to US$26.4 billion.
Globalization & Diversification Across Customers, Product & Regions
In addition to a solid backlog, Nexteer further diversified across customers, products and markets with 45 customer program launches during the year (compared to 22 launches in 2018). These programs spanned multiple customers, product lines, and regions – including Nexteer’s first Brush EPS launch in India, as well as the first EPS launch from Nexteer’s new production facility in Morocco.
Nexteer also expanded its global footprint to capitalize on growth opportunities, further globalize engineering expertise, drive efficiencies and enhance customer responsiveness. Footprint expansion included the opening of the Asia Pacific Technical Center in Suzhou, China in January 2020, as well as a software center in Bengaluru, India and EPS production facilities in Liuzhou and Wuhan, China in 2019. In addition, Nexteer’s new Morocco facility went from field to factory in 10 months and launched its first EPS program in late 2019.
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SOURCE: Nexteer
