Autoliv: Financial Report October - December 2015
January 29 2016 - 7:25AM
Business Wire
Regulatory News:
Strong quarterly execution - increases investments for future
growth towards end of decade targets.
Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV and STO:ALIVSDB) – the worldwide leader
in automotive safety systems – is moving ahead towards its
end-of-decade targets for growth, margins and returns outlined in
its October 2015 Capital Markets Day. In 2016, the Company
increases its RD&E efforts for future growth while indicating
2016 adjusted operating margin above its long term target
range.
For the three-month period ended December 31, 2015, the Company
reported record sales of $2,520 million. Quarterly organic sales*
grew by 13.4%. Operating margin was 11.2%. The adjusted operating
margin* was 11.1% (for non-U.S. GAAP measures see enclosed
reconciliation tables). The expectation at the beginning of the
quarter was for organic sales growth of “around 9%” and an adjusted
operating margin of “around 10.5%”.
For the first quarter of 2016, the Company expects organic sales
to increase by more than 10% and an adjusted operating margin of
around 8.5%. The expectation for the full year is for organic sales
growth of around 5% and an adjusted operating margin of more than
9%. RD&E investments, net will be in the higher end of the
6-6.5% range, a significant year-over-year increase.
Key Figures
For Key Figures summary table, please refer to attached file
below.
Comments from Jan Carlson, Chairman, President & CEO
“At our Capital Markets Day in early October 2015, we outlined
the Company’s targets for the end of the decade. In 2015 we
executed according to plan and we managed to exceed our own
expectations from the beginning of the fourth quarter. In 2016 we
continue to step up our RD&E efforts in support of long term
growth.
I am pleased with our performance in the quarter. Asia, Americas
and Europe all showed double-digit organic sales growth* and
globally we grew more than 13%. Both our quarterly sales and
operating profit set new records, we delivered more than 11%
adjusted operating margin* and we had close to record operating
cash flow. Through strong execution we managed to benefit from the
stronger than expected light vehicle production in the quarter.
In China, light vehicle production exceeded the estimates from
the beginning of the quarter which, combined with a beneficial
product mix, enabled us to achieve double-digit organic sales
growth in the fourth quarter and also deliver full-year organic
sales growth. This capped a year that started with unfavorable
product mix for Autoliv, followed by instability in the Chinese
market during the summer.
Rapid growth in active safety continued and we achieved over 30%
organic growth for the full year. In early January the new, best in
class active safety vehicle, Mercedes E-Class was launched with a
full suite of active safety products from Autoliv, including
ADAS-controller, radars and cameras based on our own software
algorithms. This was an important milestone towards our ambition to
deliver safety products that function in real-life situations and
not only in test environments.
2015 was another year tainted by record recalls and other issues
in the automotive industry. While this is unfortunate, it is
encouraging to see NHTSA and other regulatory bodies sharpen their
focus on automotive safety. At Autoliv we continue to put quality
first. During the year we reinforced our internal focus and
communication further, making it clear that quality is always our
number one priority.
The pace of technological development in our industry is higher
than ever and in 2016 we expect to make further investments for the
future in order to maintain our leadership in automotive safety. We
plan for record investments in RD&E, net in the higher end of
our current target range of 6-6.5% of sales, all to keep us at the
forefront of this rapid development. However, the macroeconomic
uncertainty is higher than in previous years, and we are following
the global development closely and apply prudent fiscal
management.
We continue to execute on our long-term plan. Our strategies,
targets and ambitions are clear and we continue into 2016
delivering products and solutions for real-life safety while
keeping focused on saving more lives and creating value for our
stakeholders.”
An earnings conference call will be held at 3:00 p.m. (CET)
today, January 29. To follow the webcast or to obtain the pin code
and phone number, please access www.autoliv.com. The conference
slides will be available on our web site as soon as possible
following the publication of this earnings report.
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AutolivThomas J�nssonVP Corporate Communications+46 (8) 587 20
627+46 (0) 709 578 127thomas.jonsson@autoliv.com
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