Nine-month figures 2023: HELLA grows stronger than the market

Lippstadt, 7 November 2023. HELLA, the automotive supplier operating under the FORVIA umbrella brand, increased its Group-wide sales by 12.6 percent to € 5.9 billion (9M calendar year 2022¹: € 5.3 billion) in the first nine months of the fiscal year 2023 (1 January to 30 September 2023). Adjusted for negative exchange rate effects, sales rose by 16.8 percent to € 6.2 billion. This again significantly exceeded global vehicle production, which increased by 9 percent over the same period.

Operating income grew by around 68 percent to € 363 million (9M calendar year 2022: € 217 million), also in relation to the lower prior-year figure due to inflation and the pandemic. The operating income margin thus increased to 6.1 percent (9M calendar year 2022: 4.1 percent). Net cash flow to sales ratio improved to 0.7 percent (9M calendar year 2022: 0.2 percent).

"In a persistently challenging, volatile industry environment, we have once again proven to be extremely resilient and recorded very successful financial results. In addition to a significant sales growth, which clearly shows the high market demand for our product solutions, we have also improved considerably in terms of profitability. Here we are benefiting from higher business volumes, synergy effects from the cooperation with FORVIA and the passing on of still high costs for materials, energy and logistics to our customers," says HELLA CEO Michel Favre.

Lighting, Electronics and Lifecycle Solutions with strong sales growth

In the Business Group Lighting, sales increased by 16.1 percent to € 2.9 billion (9M calendar year 2022: € 2.5 billion). This was due to higher production volumes in all regions and particularly increased demand for the latest lighting technologies from manufacturers of electric vehicles. The Business Group Electronics achieved a sales increase of 9.7 percent to € 2.5 billion (9M calendar year 2022: € 2.3 billion), among other things due to a successful business with high-voltage battery management systems and radar sensors. The Business Group Lifecycle Solutions improved sales also by 9.7 percent to € 0.8 billion here (9M calendar year 2022: € 0.7 billion). This is due to the strong spare parts business in Poland, Mexico and Brazil, the continued roll-out of the newly launched particle counter and the solid business for agricultural and construction machinery, trucks and buses.

Company outlook confirmed

For the full fiscal year 2023 (1 January to 31 December 2023), HELLA continues to expect to generate currency and portfolio-adjusted sales of around € 8.0 and 8.5 billion. The operating income margin is forecast to be around 5.5 and 7.0 percent. Both the adjusted sales and the operating income margin are expected to be around the midpoint of the respective forecast range. In relation to sales, a net cash flow of approximately 2 percent is still expected. This is based on a projected production volume of around 86 million vehicles in 2023.

"We remain on track to achieve our goals in a successful fiscal year. We expect record sales and significantly improved profitability. This speaks for our good strategic alignment along key future fields such as electrification and energy management as well as safe and automated driving. In addition, we continue to manage our cost structures very efficiently," says CEO Michel Favre.

Selected key financial figures in € millions or as a percent of sales (each 1 January to 30 September):

¹ HELLA has changed its fiscal year to the calendar year as of 1 January 2023. For better comparability, pro forma values are presented for the period 1 January to 30 September 2022.

The financial statement for the first nine months of the fiscal year 2023 is now available on the website of HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA.