Faurecia Posts Higher Profit on Soaring North America Growth
February 08, 2012, 3:16 AM ESTBy Alex Webb
Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Faurecia SA, Europe’s largest maker of car interiors, said 2011 profit climbed 84 percent, beating analyst estimates, as sales in North America rose.
Net income gained to 371 million euros ($492 million) from 202 million euros a year earlier, Nanterre, France-based Faurecia said in an e-mailed statement today. Analysts had expected net income of 344 million euros, according to the average of 10 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue rose 17 percent to 16.2 billion euros.
“All business groups have grown very solidly,” Chief Financial Officer Frank Imbert said in a conference call with analysts. “We had a very strong performance in North America.”
Faurecia, which is 57 percent owned by PSA Peugeot Citroen, is targeting annual revenue of 20 billion euros by 2015, a goal the company said today it expects to meet. The company will combine cost-savings from acquisitions, such as U.S. catalytic- converter manufacturer Emcon, with expansion in China to meet the target.
Operating income may fall this year, as European car production falls between 4 percent and 6 percent, Faurecia said. The projection of 610 million euros and 670 million euros compares with 2011’s operating income of 651 million euros.
Sales in North America increased 33 percent last year to 2.6 billion euros, while European revenue gained 6 percent to 7.8 billion euros. Emissions control technologies was the fastest growing segment, climbing 21 percent.
--Editors: Thomas Mulier, Robert Valpuesta
To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Webb in Frankfurt at awebb25@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net
