Valeo Net Income Sinks 11%

Valeo SA netted €380 million last year compared with €427 million in 2011. The company boosted adjusted earnings before interest and taxes by 3% to €725 million.

Revenue climbed 8% to €11.8 billion in 2012 as new orders rose 6% to a record €15.8 billion. Original-equipment sales increased 8% year on year to €9.9 billion. Asia accounted for 26% of that revenue compared with 22% in 2011.

The company's regional revenue last year jumped 16% to €1 billion in China and 15% to €1.7 billion in North America. It dropped 3% to €5.1 billion in Europe.

Valeo made four acquisitions and joint ventures in 2012 to help reach its goal of doubling revenue from fuel-efficiency systems to €1 billion this year.

Free cash flow narrowed from €232 million in 2011 to €81 million. The company cites higher R&D spending last year.

For 2013, Valeo expects no growth in adjusted EBIT. It predicts a decline in the January-June period that will be offset by gains in the last half of the year, when it expects the European auto market to begin reviving. The company has set a medium-term goal of hiking adjusted EBIT to 7% of revenue from 6.2% last year.