Manufacturer of parts for the automotive and industrial industries, Schaeffler, has reported record sales for the first half of 2011, with a 21% rise in sales on 2010 in Europe (excluding Germany).
While Schaeffler’s European operations experienced a rise in sales of 21%, Asian sales rose by 18%, while in Germany sales rose by 17%. While the automotive side of Schaefflers operations rose by 16% to Eu3.5bn, sales in the industrial sector rose by 25% to around Eu1.7bn.
While Schaeffler invested $312m in capital during the first six months of this year, a great deal higher than in the previous year period of €132m.
“In spite of the need for higher investments we expect to generate positive free cash flow in the current fiscal year,” said the Schaeffler Group’s chief financial officer, Klaus Rosenfeld.
Schaeffler’s CEO Dr. Juergen M. Geissinger stated: “We are now expecting a sales increase of more than 10 per cent. Against the backdrop of our planned capacity building measures and the anticipated rise in material and personnel costs, we continue to expect an EBIT margin of over 13 per cent.”
Whereas the group has experienced good growth figures in the first half of 2011, it doesn’t expect them to rise or even remain the same, due to the financial turbulence in Europe and the US. The rising cost of steel and labour is also a factor that is expected to damage profits.
The group’s staff levels also rose by 5% in the first half of 2011 to 70,000 staff worldwide. In the UK, Shcaeffler Group has manufacturing operations in Plymouth, Sutton and Llanelli in Wales. In total, the group employs around 1,200.
George Archer
