Jacques Aschenbroich, Valeo’s Chief Executive Officer, stated: “Thanks to our innovation push and the trust of our customers, we again showed our capacity to grow in all world regions in 2013 and to improve our operating margin, which came out at 6.9% of sales in the second half and 6.6% for the year as a whole. Going forward, our strong cash generation and financial position will help us prepare for the expected sharp growth in sales, particularly in 2015 and 2016. I am confident that our strategy focused on innovation and on developing our businesses in fast-growing production regions will enable us to continue delivering margin growth in line with our medium-term financial objectives.”
In 2013
• In the fourth quarter, growth of the original equipment business accelerated (up 17% on a like-for-like basis), outperforming global automotive production by 10 percentage points
• In the second half, like-for-like sales advanced 12% and operating margin(2) rose 16% to 6.9% of sales
• Highlights of full-year 2013:
Order intake(1) of 14.8 billion euros
Consolidated sales of 12,110 million euros, up 9% like for like (up 3% on a reported basis)
– Balanced performance between the original equipment business (up 10%*) and the aftermarket business (up 8%*)
– Original equipment sales beat the market by 6 percentage points
Europe: up 7%*, 7 percentage points higher than the market
China: up 31%*, 16 percentage points higher than the market
North America: up 17%*, 12 percentage points higher than the market
South America: up 8%*, 3 percentage points higher than the market
Operating margin up 10% to 795 million euros, or 6.6% of sales
Net attributable income up 18% to 439 million euros
Free cash flow(7) of 315 million euros
Net debt(9) of 366 million euros
2013 dividend
• Proposed dividend payment up 13% to 1.70 euros per share
2014 outlook
• Based on the following market assumptions for 2014:
– 2% to 3% growth in global automotive production
– 1% to 2% growth in automotive production in Europe
– raw material prices and exchange rates in line with current levels
• Valeo has set the following objectives for 2014:
– sales growth higher than the market in the main production regions
– a slight increase in operating margin (as a percentage of sales) compared to 2013.
* Like-for-like (constant Group structure and exchange rates)
