Forvia reported on Friday that, excluding currency translation effects, the French supplier of auto parts saw a 2.2% reduction in first-quarter revenue due to a steep decline in sales in China.
The world’s second-largest economy had a 23.5% decline in quarterly revenues to 5.14 billion euros ($6.00 billion), primarily due to an unfavorable client mix and a notable decline in output at automaker BYD.
Early Paris trade saw a 2% decline in Forvia’s shares. “We have been driven by BYD, especially in the last few years, as their growth rate has changed recently.” However, there is now more competition from other clients, therefore this is having an effect,” Olivier Durand, Forvia’s finance head, stated on a call with reporters.
The company recorded growth in all other regions despite a 3.4% decline in global automotive production, according to S&P Global Mobility forecasts published this month.
Additionally, it recorded a 2.2% sales growth in the Clean Mobility business unit, which encompasses vehicle pollution reduction activities for all non-electric vehicles, driven by Stellantis and General Motors in North America.
CEO Martin Fischer said in a press release, “At the same time, we have continued to make progress on the planned divestiture of our Interiors segment, which we expect to occur in the near term.”
Durand refrained from commenting on a Bloomberg News report on Thursday that private equity firm Apollo was nearing a deal to buy its interiors business for about 1.4 billion euros.
After Stellantis’ withdrawal from the Symbio joint venture, Forvia and Michelin confirmed that they would move to a 50-50 partnership.
Durand said, “Since we have the Commercial Court’s approval decision, the implementation of the plan will be swift.”
Forvia stated that it has not seen a significant impact from the turmoil in the Middle East and confirmed its 2026 target.
($1 = 0.8563 euros)
