Valeo posts 9 percent sales growth to 12.7 billion euros in 2014

French component manufacturer has revealed its 2014 financial numbers. It has registered a 9 percent increase in sales to 12,725 million euros (Rs 97,269 crore). The company’s order intake was up 18 percent to 17.5 billion euros with original equipment sales up 11 percent to 10,890 million euros, a 9 percent rise on a like-for-like basis, outperforming growth in global automotive production by 6.5 percentage points. Valeo says it outperformed in all automotive production regions and in all business groups.

According to Jacques Aschenbroich, Valeo's Chief Executive Officer, "Our performance in 2014 confirms Valeo's excellent growth momentum and robust results, with sales up 9 percent, operating margin up 15 percent, net income up 28 percent and the order intake at the high level of 17.5 billion euros. Up by 18 percent, the order intake reflects the commercial success of our innovative technologies for CO2 emissions reduction and intuitive driving. This performance reaffirms Valeo's growth and profitability strategy, which will be explained in further detail at our Investor Day on March 16."

The company has issued an outlook for 2015 based on a rise of around 3 percent in global automotive production, including an increase of around 2 percent in Europe excluding Russia and raw material prices and exchange rates in line with current levels. For 2015, it plans to achieve sales growth higher than the market in the main production regions, and a slight increase in operating margin (as a percentage of sales) compared with 2014.