Mann+Hummel (Ludwigsburg / Germany; www.mann-hummel.com) can look back on a successful fiscal 2019. The global filtration expert saw its turnover rise to EUR 4.2 bn – the highest sales in the company’s nearly 80-year history.

Both its Transportation and Life Sciences & Environment business segments contributed to this development. This was despite challenging conditions resulting from Brexit, trade disputes and mobility change, according to Mann+Hummel, with the group’s operating EBIT in 2019 well above that for the previous fiscal year. EBIT rose EUR 59.7m or 63.9% to EUR 153.3m. Related to turnover, however, this represents a return of only 3.6% (compared to 2.4% in 2018). Consolidated net income was just below the break-even point, at a loss of EUR 1m (minus 21m in 2018). The fact that it did not quite manage to get into the profit zone is due among other things to expenditures for severance payments amounting to EUR 44.9m, which were incurred in connection with its 2019 restructuring programme.

Strengthened by the financial results from 2019, Kurk Wilks, president and CEO since January 2020, feels that the company is now well equipped to face the latest challenges: “This year will certainly not be easy either due to the economic consequences of Covid-19, but we are on a sound financial footing.” Free cash flow is reported as EUR 232m in the financial report (5.5% of sales). In 2018, it was only EUR 37m (minus 0.9% of sales).

“We have consistently lowered our costs in the past year through process improvements. We have made good progress with our global restructuring. As a result, we were able to achieve positive effects on earnings as early as 2019,” said Emese Weissenbacher executive VP and CFO. Mann+Hummel introduced a restructuring programme to cut costs in February 2019, with the aim of saving around EUR 100m worldwide.

As a supplier with a large proportion of automotive products, the company’s fiscal 2020 will be heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, but “we do not currently foresee any liquidity bottlenecks or other existential risks arising due to the crisis,” said Weissenbacher. Instead, the company will carry on with its transformation strategy and continue to invest in restructuring, new business areas, R&D and digitalisation, she said.