Mexican Media Brands
ZF Posts Record Sales as Operating Profits Rise
ZF Friedrichshafen AG reports its pretax earnings in 2017 rose 5% to €2.2 billion ($2.7 billion), as sales climbed 4% to a record €36.4 billion ($45 billion).
#economics
Share
ZF Friedrichshafen AG reports its pretax earnings in 2017 rose 5% to €2.2 billion ($2.7 billion), as sales climbed 4% to a record €36.4 billion ($45 billion).
The German powertrain supplier says its revenue in Europe and North America grew by more than 3% last year. Growth was 8% in the Asia Pacific, but unfavorable exchange rates reduced that amount to about 2%. Sales in South America jumped 26% from a low base.
R&D spending last year grew 15% to €2.2 billion, according to the company. It anticipates an unspecified increase in 2018, mostly to fund work on electric drives, hybrid transmissions, vehicle safety systems and automated driving.
ZF says its gross debt has dropped by nearly 50% to €6.4 billion ($7.9 billion) since its acquired TRW Automotive in May 2015.
The company expects its gross sales this year will rise by only €100 million to €36.5 billion because of the expected sales of its Body Control Systems business. Revenue from continuing operations is likely to grow 5%.
RELATED CONTENT
-
On The German Auto Industry
A look at several things that are going on in the German auto industry—from new vehicles to stamping to building electric vehicles.
-
China and U.S. OEMs
When Ford announced its 3rd quarter earning on October 24, the official announcement said, in part, “Company revenue was up 3 percent year over year, with net income and company adjusted EBIT both down year over year, primarily driven by continued challenges in China.” The previous day, perhaps as a preemptive move to answer the question “If things are going poorly in China, what are you doing about it?, Ford announced that it was establishing Ford China as a stand-alone business unit.
-
VW Warns of Higher Costs to Develop EVs
CEO Herbert Diess says the €20 billion ($23 billion) Volkswagen AG has budgeted to electrify its entire vehicle lineup won’t be enough to meet that goal.