The Regensburg-based automotive supplier Vitesco is anticipating noticeably lower sales for the current year.

The reason for this is the planned significant decline in contract manufacturing for the former parent company Continental, the company announced on Thursday. Overall, sales of 8.3 to 8.8 billion euros are expected, compared to 9.2 billion euros last year. At the same time, profitability should continue to improve, especially thanks to better business with parts for electric cars. At 4.5 to five percent, the adjusted profit margin should be above the 3.7 percent of 2023.

However, the bottom line for Vitesco in 2023 was a loss of 96.3 million euros. The takeover by the Herzogenaurach-based automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler, which led to high tax burdens due to write-downs on pre-loss carryforwards, played a major role in this.

Shareholders are also to receive a dividend for the first time. The aim is to pay a dividend of 0.25 euros per share. Schaeffler, together with the family holding IHO, secured a stake of just under 89 percent in Vitesco at the turn of the year and has since concluded a merger agreement with Vitesco. The takeover is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter.

(Report by Christina Amann, edited by Myria Mildenberger. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at Berlin.Newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or Frankfurt.Newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets)