By Rachel More and Christina Amann
BERLIN -Germany’s Aumovio, one of the automotive suppliers facing pressure on supply chains in a diplomatic battle over Nexperia, has secured deliveries of the company’s chips from China, its chief executive told Reuters on Friday.
The exemption from Chinese export restrictions was another bright spot in a challenging environment for the company, which reported a smaller-than-forecast drop in earnings in the first quarter since its spin-off from Continental.
Its shares jumped 7.1% after the results and on investor relief over its effort to head off a chip supply crunch that has rattled carmakers globally.
CHINESE EXPORT EXEMPTION GRANTED
“We applied for and received an exemption from the export restrictions. We received it the day before yesterday verbally, yesterday in writing,” CEO Philipp von Hirschheydt said.
The company, which makes brakes and safety systems, vehicle software, displays and electronics, had been preparing furlough measures for its sites as a precautionary measure.
“We assume that this will most likely not be necessary,” von Hirschheydt said.
Nexperia, Chinese-owned but based in the Netherlands, makes billions of simple but ubiquitous chips for cars and other electronics. Supply of those chips has been snarled since a dispute between Amsterdam and Beijing over technology transfer.
Earlier on Friday, Aumovio reported a 30% drop in third-quarter operating profit to 150 million euros ($175 million), higher than the 142 million euros forecast in a company poll of analysts.
Sales fell 6.4% to 4.5 billion euros, just below forecast.
SALES SEEN AT LOWER END, MARGIN GUIDANCE UNCHANGED
European carmakers like Volkswagen cautiously held onto their 2025 forecasts in the third quarter as they limp towards the end of another bruising year, which threatens to end with production stoppages if no solution is found to the Nexperia stand-off.
Having debuted on the Frankfurt stock exchange in September, Aumovio also faces a tough market, with Europe’s auto sector buffeted by tariffs, cheap Chinese competition and supply chain uncertainty.
The company now expects full-year sales of between 18 billion and 19 billion euros, narrowing its previous guidance range of 18 billion to 20 billion euros.
It confirmed its forecast for a 2025 adjusted operating profit margin at the upper end of a range of 2.5% to 4%.
($1 = 0.8575 euros)
(Additional reporting by Bernadette Hogg; Editing by Mark Potter and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
