NANTERRE, France, Oct. 10, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Faurecia (Other OTC:FURCF):
In EURO million 3rd quarter Year to date September
2002 Variation 2002 Variation
2002/2001 2002/2001
Automotive seating 962.4 19.7% 2,936.2 11.1%
Vehicle interior 810.5 9.0% 2,523.0 3.9%
Exhaust systems 407.2 (18.3)% 1,373.2 (20.7)%
Front end 134.9 2.2% 440.6 2.2%
Total 2,315.0 6.3% 7,273.0 0.5%
The third quarter reflects a strong sales level for the Faurecia Group, in particular for Automotive seating. Sales for the period were 2,315.0 million pounds, an increase of 6.3% compared to 2001 including a negative exchange rate impact of 2.5%.
During the first nine months, Faurecia sales increased 0.5% to 7,273.0 million pounds. Excluding catalytic converters, Faurecia recorded sales of 6,665.5 pounds million, an increase of 6.0% compared to the same period in 2001, including a negative exchange rate effect of 1.1%.
Automotive seating sales increased 19.7% in the third quarter and 11.1% in the first nine months. This growth is mainly due to the launches or ramp up of the new Renault Espace, the Peugeot 807, the Opel Vectra, the Peugeot 307 and the Ford Expedition in North America.
Sales of the Vehicle interior (cockpit, door, acoustic package) show an increase of 9.0% in the third quarter and 3.9% over the first nine months. These modules capitalized during the third quarter on their presence in vehicles either growing or in start-up phase (Ford Fiesta, Peugeot 307, new Renault Espace).
The decline of 18.3% in Exhaust systems third quarter sales is mainly due to the fall in the price of the precious metals used in catalytic converters and also to the negative impact of the exchange rate. Excluding revenues from catalytic converters, sales declined 2.0% over the quarter and 2.4% over the first nine months. The negative impact of the exchange rate is respectively 3.9% and 1.5% for the two periods.
Front end records an increase of 2.2% in the third quarter and 2.2% over the first nine months.
4th quarter sales will reflect the continued strong growth of automotive seating and the impact of the decline of precious metals similar to the one of the 3rd quarter. In this context, Faurecia confirms its capacity to grow faster than the European automotive production.
Faurecia is Europe's third largest automobile equipment supplier and one of the global leaders in six major vehicle modules: seat, cockpit, door, acoustic module, front-end and exhaust. With 2001 consolidated sales of 9.6 billion pounds, the Group has operations in 27 countries and over 50,000 employees working at 150 sites. Faurecia is listed on the French Stock Exchange in Paris.