International automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler looks back on a successful first half of 2013. At €5.6 billion, revenue for the first six months of 2013 remained flat with the prior year period, albeit with revenue trends differing between the Automotive and Industrial divisions. The Automotive division grew its revenue by about six percent to approximately €4.1 billion, while Industrial division revenue declined by about 14 percent to €1.5 billion. "We are very pleased with the performance of the Automotive division. It has held its ground very well despite the challenging market environment in Europe. Due to the current uncertainties in the various industrial sectors, the Industrial division was unable to maintain the very encouraging results of the prior year. However, our EBIT margin of 12.9 percent shows that we continue to maintain our high earnings quality," stated Dr. Juergen M. Geissinger, CEO of Schaeffler AG. The company generated EBIT of €724 million (prior year: €780 million). Net income for the period was €561 million (prior year: €504 million).
Given the considerable decrease in revenue in the Industrial sector in the first six months of 2013, the sluggish recovery of the global economy so far and weak economic momentum in China, the Schaeffler Group is now forecasting revenue for 2013 as a whole to grow by one to two percent. "We continue to expect sustainable above market revenue growth for the Automotive division. However, we probably will not be able to offset the weakness in revenue experienced in the Industrial division to date," explained Dr. Geissinger. The group is maintaining its ambitious profitability target. "Due to the stable earnings situation in the Automotive division we currently continue to expect the Schaeffler Group to generate an EBIT margin of approximately 13 percent for the full year 2013," Dr. Geissinger emphasized.
