MAHLE Aftermarket business development

Press release [PDF; 102 KB]
Picture: Arnd Franz, General Manager MAHLE Aftermarket [JPG; 4774 KB]

Frankfurt, 11 September 2012 – MAHLE Aftermarket was able to continue its organic growth by recording total sales of EUR 775 million in 2011. This represents a plus of 6 per cent compared with the previous year, or growth of 7.5 per cent when dis-counting negative exchange rate effects.

“Almost all markets in Western Europe, South America, and Asia/Pacific posted stable growth rates, while sales in North America remained at about the same level as the previous year. Sales in the Near and Middle East also increased, while business in North Africa dwindled due to the political unrest across the regions and related economic uncertainty in the vehicle spare parts sector”, said Arnd Franz, General Manager MAHLE Aftermarket, taking stock of figures that as a whole look very positive. Filters and engine components contributed to the development of sales to an equal degree.

The operating profit and all key figures reflected the positive sales trend, or even exceeded it. The headcount rose slightly to 1,536 employees. Cost optimisation measures already initiated in the previous years also resulted in stable cost structures in the administration and sales divisions.

In the past business year, MAHLE Aftermarket invested heavily in the automation of assembly, the expansion of the product range, and in the improvement of warehouse infrastructure. A further distribution location in Singapore was commissioned in the middle of the year, which will optimise the flows of goods into South East Asia.

The forecast for 2012, which was confirmed by the results from the first six months of 2012, is still looking positive at over EUR 800 million annual sales, even against the backdrop of many uncertainties impacting the overall economic environment. MAHLE Aftermarket was able to maintain or even increase the level of sales on the markets of Southern Europe, despite the ongoing recession. This is contrasted by a drop in the number of parts built in the Middle East and Western Europe. For North and South America, MAHLE Aftermarket is only expecting moderate growth for 2012 due to the economic situation. However, a considerable increase in sales has been forecast for all markets in Asia.

Arnd Franz: “To make our product range and availability even more appealing to our customers, we constantly promote our organic growth by launching new products and expanding our distribution network. Apart from consolidated products such as air, oil, fuel, and cabin air filters, pistons, piston rings, cylinder liners, assemblies, bearings, and engine valves, MAHLE Aftermarket now also offers new product families, including a wide range of turbochargers and air compressors.”

In addition, MAHLE Aftermarket will bolster its integrated concept for the spare parts market and repair shops with a comprehensive selection of marketing instruments for customers: a far-reaching product range, technical training, and information, as well as promotional measures will further encourage and stabilise the business of repair shops and trade.

About MAHLE

The MAHLE Group is one of the 30 largest companies in the automotive supply industry worldwide. With its two business units Engine Systems and Components and Filtration and Engine Peripherals, MAHLE ranks among the top three systems suppliers worldwide for piston systems, cylinder components, as well as valve train, air management, and liquid management systems. MAHLE’s industrial activities are combined in the Industry business unit. These include the areas of large engines, industrial filtration, as well as cooling and air conditioning systems. The Aftermarket business unit serves the independent spare parts market with MAHLE products in OE quality. In 2011, the MAHLE Group generated sales of approximately EUR 6 billion; around 49,000 employees work at over 100 production plants and eight research and development centres.

Further queries:
MAHLE Aftermarket GmbH
Andrea Arnold
Corporate Communications/Public Relations
Pragstrasse 26–46
70376 Stuttgart
Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 711/501-13124
Fax: +49 (0) 711/501-13700
andrea.arnold@mahle.com