KOBLENZ (dpa-AFX) - The automotive and industrial supplier Stabilus has started the new fiscal year (until the end of September) with slightly higher sales. While the company was able to grow in Europe and Asia, revenues in the Americas region declined due to strikes in the US automotive industry. Overall, the company suffered a decline in profitability. The MDax group confirmed its targets for the year as a whole on Monday when it presented its figures for the first quarter. The share price fell by 3.4 percent to 61.90 euros in early trading.

Analyst Akshat Kacker from the US bank JPMorgan emphasized the challenging market environment on the American continent in an initial assessment. This, in turn, was due to the impressive development in the Asia-Pacific region. Although the sales forecast of the automotive and industrial supplier has been confirmed, he assumes that this could prove to be optimistic.

As Stabilus announced in Koblenz, sales in the quarter ending December climbed by 5.1 percent year-on-year to EUR 305.4 million. While earnings before interest and taxes adjusted for special effects rose slightly to 33.3 million euros, the corresponding margin fell from 11.2 percent a year earlier to 10.9 percent. At the bottom line, profit fell by 3.3 million euros to 12.2 million euros.

Stabilus offers gas springs for trunk lids, among other things. However, the strongest growth was in electric drives that automatically open luggage compartments. In the past quarter, the Group benefited in particular from demand in Europe and Asia.

"In the first quarter, we once again recorded strong growth in APAC and also made significant gains in EMEA," said CEO Michael Büchsner. A challenging environment in America and exogenous one-off effects such as the consequences of the strike by production workers at some major car manufacturers in the USA made the start of the year in this region somewhat more difficult. However, the company expects this market to recover in the coming quarters.

For the year as a whole, the management continues to expect an increase in turnover to between 1.4 and 1.5 billion euros. At 13 to 14%, the Group expects the adjusted operating margin to be roughly on a par with the previous two years. According to the information provided, the forecast also includes effects from the consolidation of Destaco, including expected costs for the integration of the American company.

The supplier had already increased its stake in its partner Cultraro to 60 percent in July, with the brand now operating under its own name under the Stabilus umbrella. In mid-October, Stabilus then announced the acquisition of the US company Destaco, which specializes in industrial automation, for 680 million dollars to strengthen its own industrial business. The deal is expected to be completed in the first half of the year. The Group is also investing around ten million euros in modernization and automation at its main plant in Koblenz. According to earlier information, around 150 jobs are to be cut by 2025, primarily in production./mne/niw/men