In Q1 2021, Akwel Automotive (Champfromier / France; www.akwel-automotive.com) posted sales of EUR 273.3m, with negative currency effects from the US dollar and Turkish lira pushing turnover just slightly below the comparable figure for the previous year (EUR 273.5m), the car components supplier said. Adjusted growth was 6.3%. According to Akwel, two main factors affected the market: on the one hand, car production recovered, especially in China, but on the other, the problems with the supply of raw materials and electronic components worsened.

Geographically, sales developed very differently. On the French domestic market, turnover fell by 2.6% to EUR 77.8m, but in the rest of Europe and Africa, it increased by 3.8% to EUR 86.3m. In China, sales rose by 10.6%, but fell in the rest of Asia (excluding Turkey) by 2.7%, which meant that for the whole of Asia, there was an increase of 3.9% to EUR 40.5m. On the other hand, business on the other side of the Atlantic suffered: sales in North America slipped by 4% to EUR 67.1m, and in South America by 2.4% to EUR 1.6m.

In view of the still serious supply problems and the uncertainties connected with this, Akwel is keeping its forecasts for 2021 very vague. It said, for example, that it would continue to aim for sales growth comparable with that of 2020, but would probably not attain the figures of 2019. Furthermore, profitability would not match the record level of 2020.

Last year, although Akwel suffered a fall in sales of 15% to EUR 937.2m, the operating result rose by 20% to EUR 107m and net earnings climbed by 36% to EUR 85.5m. The reasons for the strong development were early adjustments to the cost structure during the coronavirus pandemic and the dynamic recovery of the automotive industry in the second half of the year.