April 17 (Reuters) – Forvia, the European auto parts maker born out of Faurecia’s ( EPED.PA ) takeover of Hella, said on Monday that first-quarter sales growth exceeded global car production, although uncertainty about semiconductor supplies persisted. .
The automotive sector has been hit by several supply disruptions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, including a global chip shortage that has affected production.
“We continue to have a reduction in the number of shortages that can occur and the number of instances of shortages, but it is not eliminated,” finance chief Olivier Durand told reporters. He added that the blockages were mostly related to analog semiconductors.
Durand said the gradual improvement seen in the quarter was in line with Forvia’s expectations, but the overall situation was still difficult.
Forvia, which sells seats, dashboards and fuel systems to automakers, posted sales of 6.64 billion euros ($7.29 billion) in the first quarter, up from 5.15 billion a year earlier.
He said the numbers excluded Faurecia’s SAS Cockpit Modules arm which it agreed to sell in February.
Organic sales growth of 17.6% “significantly outpaced” global car production, CEO Patrick Koller said in a statement, with all of Forvia’s main regions (EMEA, Americas and Asia) outperforming their geographies
Global automotive production grew by 2.7% in the same period, according to the company.
The group said growth was helped by an extra month of consolidation at Hella after it closed the acquisition early last year.
Forvia, which in February said it planned to mitigate the impact of inflation in 2023 through existing contractual pass-through policies and ongoing negotiations with customers, also saw a positive inflation-related impact of about 240 basis points during the quarter
The company confirmed its goals for 2023 and in the medium term.
($1 = 0.9106 euros)
Report by Lina Golovnya and Diana Mandiá in Gdensk; Assembly of Milla Nissi
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