Webasto Posts Losses in FY 2021, Q1 of 2022
OEM and aftermarket manufacturer Webasto said it posted losses again last year while in the midst of a large investment in the Americas region and a decline in revenue from China.
Annual sales rose 12.2 percent to €3.7 billion ($3.9 billion), Webasto said in an earnings summary yesterday. Profit margin for 2021 was a negative 3.9 percent, compared with a negative 2.1 percent for 2020.
“We still successfully countered the ongoing pandemic, semiconductor bottlenecks and exploding material costs last year, and further investments in the future were also factored in,” said Holger Engelmann, chairman of Webasto’s management board. “But one single, extremely challenging, technological, innovative major project of highly strategic importance for the Americas region meant that we again had to absorb a negative result.”
Earnings before interest and taxes remained negative in the first quarter of 2022, Germany-based Webasto stated. Therefore, the company said, it is engaging in a more intense cost-management program. Sales in the quarter rose, however, by 5.4 percent. Electromobility systems grew to approximately 20 percent of the order backlog.