MAHLE Steers Steady Course Through Coronavirus Crisis
In the current coronavirus crisis, the MAHLE Group can rely on a sound financial position and liquidity. In the 2019 financial year, the automobile component supplier intensified its strategic and technological realignment despite challenging conditions. MAHLE recorded the largest volume of orders received in the history of the Group, with orders running into the billions in the field of new technologies alone.
The technology group now has an unmatched broad-based portfolio for the various types of drive system. Dependence on the internal combustion engine for motor vehicles has now fallen almost to the 40 percent mark. Despite the current crisis, MAHLE remains on track for the future and is consistently forging ahead with its efficiency improvement programs. Intensive preparations are now underway for the resumption of production at the Group’s European plants.
“The coronavirus crisis is having a massive impact on our business. There was a drastic fall in sales in March and April and 2020 will be an extremely difficult year for MAHLE,” said Dr. Jörg Stratmann, CEO and Chairman of the MAHLE Group Management Board at the Annual Press Conference in Stuttgart on Thursday. “The MAHLE Group has a sound financial position. This is why we can survive a crisis for a certain time. It is our entrepreneurial responsibility to consistently continue our efficiency improvement programs and to maintain our strict cost discipline. This way, we will master the crisis.”
Following the almost complete closure of its plants throughout the world, MAHLE is now preparing intensively for the resumption of production in Europe. “We have delivery capabilities and are in a position to meet our customers’ demand. We remain a partner that is known and appreciated for its reliability,” said Jörg Stratmann.
The 2019 financial year was characterized by a decline in markets throughout the world. The MAHLE Group was not immune to this development. However, with an adjusted fall of 3 percent in sales to €12.0 billion, it performed better than the market as a whole, which suffered an overall decline of about 5 percent.
Despite the economic headwind and other challenging effects such as the fundamental transformation of the automotive industry, negative geopolitical impacts, the Brexit debate and a political environment with ambitious targets, MAHLE continued to pursue its strategy consistently last year. In 2019, the fall in sales, the continued high investments in research and development, operational issues and high accruals for restructuring led to a consolidated net loss of about €212 million.
“Despite this temporary development, we continue to forge ahead with the realignment of MAHLE,” said Stratmann. “We are doing our homework to position our Group successfully for the future. We intend to play an active role in shaping change in our sector and to remain a successful market player and an attractive employer.”
MAHLE has clearly defined its goals for safeguarding its competitiveness; the further development of future-oriented technological fields, the improvement of productivity and profitability and the adaptation of the Group structure to the changed business environment.
In 2019, MAHLE implemented a comprehensive package of measures. The “Electronics and Mechatronics” business unit was newly established with effect from January 1, 2020 in order to pool the competences of the Group in these fields of technology and to focus even more strongly on the development and production of electric motors as well as electronic and mechatronic systems. The Group maintained investments in research and development unchanged at a high level. The cost saving programs in various business areas of the Group achieved their interim targets in 2019.
