The Schaeffler Group's revenue amounted to 12.6 billion euros (prior year: approximately 14.4 billion euros). Adjusted for currency effects, revenue fell by 10.4 percent. All divisions were affected by the negative trend. However, in the second half of the year and particularly in the fourth quarter, there was a noticeable improvement compared to the first half of the year, to which all divisions contributed. Of the four regions, China recovered the fastest and closed the year with an increase in sales of 8.7% on a currency-adjusted basis. Sales in the Americas, Europe and Asia/Pacific regions declined.

Despite the decline in sales, the EBIT margin before special items amounted to 6.4% (previous year: 8.1%). This shows that the measures initiated as part of the divisional programs and additional cost adjustments are having an effect. The consolidated result attributable to the shareholders of the parent company amounted to EUR -424 million in the reporting period, compared to EUR 428 million in the previous year. The consolidated net profit attributable to shareholders before special items amounted to EUR 325 million (previous year: EUR 686 million).

Forecast for the year 2021

The Schaeffler Group expects revenue to grow significantly by more than 7 percent excluding the impact of currency translation in 2021. The lower limit is based on a conservative market estimate for global growth in the production of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. At the same time, the company expects to achieve an EBIT margin before special items of 6 to 8% for the 2021 financial year.

The Group expects the Automotive Technologies division to grow 2 to 5 percentage points faster than the global production of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. On this basis, the company anticipates positive sales growth for the Automotive Technologies division and a slightly improved EBIT margin of over 4.5% compared to the previous year.

For the Automotive Aftermarket division, the Group expects currency-adjusted sales growth of 5% to 7% in the 2021 financial year and a slightly lower EBIT margin of over 11.5% compared to the previous year. For the Industrial division, the company expects to achieve sales growth of 4 to 6 percent and a high single-digit EBIT margin of over 8.5 percent in the 2021 financial year, given the range of estimates.

Dr. Klaus Patzak, CFO of Schaeffler AG, says: "We are confident about the coming financial year and anticipate relatively robust growth for our markets. However, the economic environment remains challenging in times of the pandemic, and we do not expect the pre-crisis level to be reached until after 2022. Our forecast reflects this."