Sogefi: net income up at € 12m (+14.5%) and free cash flow higher in Q1

Laurent Hebenstreit, Chief Executive of Sogefi, said: 'In the first quarter of 2018 Sogefi outperformed the market and achieved a higher result and cash generation despite the increase in steel costs'.Revenues up by 2.8% at constant exchange rates
In first quarter of 2018, the global automotive market reported a decline in production of 0.7% with Europe down 1.1%, a decline of 0.9% in Asia (mainly because of the contraction of the Chinese market -2.7%) and North America down 2.7%. By contrast, South America grew by +11.9%.
The considerable movements of the exchange rates of currencies other than the Euro in which the group operates, all of which lost significant value, had a strong impact on the evolution of the main economic indicators and particularly on revenues.
In this environment, in Q1 2018 Sogefi reported revenues of € 421.1 million, up 2.8% at constant exchange rates but down 2.7% by at historical exchange rates compared with Q1 2017. Revenues grow in all geographical areas

Business in Europe and North America was substantially stable compared to the previous year (+0.1% and +0.4% respectively at constant exchange) but grew significantly in Asia and in South America (+8.5% and 16.3% respectively at constant exchange rates).
Performance of the three Business Units
Suspensions posted growth of 2.5% (+7.2% at constant exchange rates). Filtration declined by 3.7% (+3.3% at constant exchange rates) while Air & Cooling sales declined by 7.9% (-3.1% at constant exchange rates). Operating results and net incomeEBITDA came in at € 53.1 million, in line with the first quarter of 2017 (€ 53.3 million); at constant exchange rates EBITDA would have shown an increase of 5.1%. Profitability (EBITDA/revenues) improved from 12.3% to 12.6%. EBIT, at € 25.6 million, was also in line with the first quarter of 2017 (€ 25.3 million) and represents 6.1% of revenues. At constant exchange rates EBIT would have increased by 7.5%.Net income was € 12 million, higher than in 2017 (€ 10.5 million), after € 5.8 million of tax expense in 2018 versus € 7.3 million in 2017. Regarding the risks resulting from the claims made against Sogefi Air & Cooling S.A.S. (formerly Systèmes Moteurs S.A.S.), in the first quarter of 2018 there were no significant developments. Net debtFree Cash Flow in the first quarter of 2018 amounted to a positive€ 9.3 million compared to € 6.9 million in the same period of 2017. Net financial debt at March 31 2018 stood at € 254.3 million, showing an improvement of € 9.7 million compared to December 31 2017 (€ 264 million) and of € 37.1 million compared to March 31 2017 (€ 291.4 million). Shareholders' equity
At March 31 2018 Shareholders' equity excluding minority interests amounted to € 185.2 million (€ 175.7 million at December 31 2017).
EmployeesThe Sogefi Group had 6,972 employees at March 31 2018 compared to 6,947 at December 31 2017.Results of the parent company Sogefi S.p.A.
During the period, the Parent Company Sogefi S.p.A. recorded a net loss of € 5.2 million (€ -4.3 million in the first quarter of 2017). The change was due mainly to higher net financial charges.
Outlook for the year
Despite the weak performance of the global automotive market in the first quarter of 2018, the Group confirms the expectation that it will moderately outperform the market at constant exchange rates and achieve a higher result.