Schaeffler delivers solid results despite “a challenging environment”

Schaeffler has published its interim financial report for the first half of 2022. The automotive and industrial supplier’s revenue for the first six months amounted to 7,548 million euros, against 7,014 million euros prior years.

The 3.1 per cent constant-currency increase in revenue compared to the prior year period was mostly attributable to favourable price realisation. Revenue for the second quarter of 2022 rose by 4.4 per cent at constant currency to 3,790 million euros, compared to 3,454 million euros the year before.

The Automotive Technologies division reported a slight constant-currency revenue decline of 1.0 per cent for the first half of the year, primarily attributable to volatile customer call-offs due to the persistently challenging environment in the automotive sector. Despite considerable decreases in Automotive Aftermarket division revenue in the Central & Eastern Europe subregion resulting from the war in Ukraine, the division reported constant currency growth of 3.2 per cent compared to the prior year period. Industrial division revenue for the first six months was up by considerably 13.6 per cent at constant currency.

Regional trends varied. While the Europe (6.0 per cent), Americas (9.5 per cent), and Asia/Pacific (3.4 per cent) regions reported constant-currency revenue growth, Greater China region revenue declined by 8.0 per cent. The decline was largely due to lockdown measures imposed in the second quarter to contain the coronavirus pandemic that adversely affected the economy in the region.

The Schaeffler Group reported 458 million euros (prior year: 702 million euros) in EBIT before special items in the first six months. This represents an EBIT margin before special items of 6.1 per cent (prior year: 10.0 per cent). The pandemic-related revenue declines in Greater China put further pressure on the EBIT margin, the company said.

Claus Bauer, CFO of Schaeffler AG (pictured), said: “The second quarter of 2022 was a remarkable one, not just because of the lockdowns which directly affected us at our largest campus in Taicang. We succeeded in proactively and prudently managing the cost impacts, some of which were significant, the increasing inflationary pressure and the strains in the supply chains. We are more than pleased with the solid results the Schaeffler Group delivered in this challenging environment.”