Vitesco clocks record electrification orders in Q12022

Vitesco Technologies, a manufacturer of state-of-the-art powertrain technologies for sustainable mobility, has said its Q1 sales for 2022 remained almost at the level of the previous year's quarter, which was characterised by catch-up effects. This revenue was achieved despite continuing semiconductor shortages and lockdown-related production losses in China. The company also reported a new record order intake for its electrification business.

“We are particularly proud of our record order intake for electrification products. We were able to generate close to 3.7 billion euros with electrification orders in Q1 2022,” said CEO Andreas Wolf.

Of this, 3.5 billion euros were attributable to business unit Electrification Technology. In total, the company booked an order volume of euros 4.5 billion in the past quarter. This volume includes Hyundai Motor Group’s 2-billion-euros-order for the EMR4 axle drive, which was announced recently.

In addition, another major order has recently been booked: Vitesco Technologies will supply its battery management system to a global customer for around 1.7 billion euros. The system is designed for the 400-volt and 800-volt architecture of battery electric vehicles and enables wireless communication between the individual components. The start of production is planned for the first half of 2024.

Another solid quarter in a challenging market environment, group revenues in the first quarter were 2.26 billion euros (Q1 2021: 2.30 billion euros), a decrease of 1.9 percent. Adjusted for changes in the scope of consolidation and exchange rate fluctuations, revenues fell by 5.6 percent.

Sales of electrification products totaled 263 million euros. Adjusted operating profit increased year-on-year to 45.2 million euros (Q1 2021: 17.1 million euros). This corresponds with an adjusted EBIT margin of 2 percent (Q1 2021: 0.7 percent). Net income in the first quarter amounted to loss of 11.3 million euros (Q1 2021: loss of 31.7 million euros).

In the press note, CFO Werner Volz: “The consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, the continuing supply bottlenecks for important components such as semiconductors, price increases for raw materials and energy and the effects of Russia's aggressive war in Ukraine on global supply chains present us – like the entire industry – with major challenges. However, we were able to achieve a solid overall result again this quarter through a continued strict cost discipline. We even managed to exceed market expectations.” This led to an advance release of the preliminary financial figures for the first quarter of 2022.

As of March 31, 2022, Vitesco Technologies has a solid balance sheet with an equity ratio of 35.9 percent (March 31, 2021: 33.8 percent). The strong liquidity position was increased and further strengthened in the past quarter by the placement of a Schuldschein loan (a combination of a loan and promissory note and which is not registered) in the amount of 200 million euros.

In the first quarter, however, the company’s overall result was burdened by effects of inflation in the form of increased energy and transport costs. The consequences of the re-emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic in China were also noticeable in the first quarter. “The pandemic has affected the production capacities of our sites in China in various ways,” said CEO Andreas Wolf.