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8
Autoneum Annual Report 2015
Letter to shareholders
margin accordingly reached 5.4% of net sales
for the first time, surpassing the previous year’s
margin by 1.4 percentage points.
Business Group North America grew
organically by 8.8% in the reporting year. This
was the result of supply for high-volume US and
Japanese models. Almost all of the 15 best-
selling car models in the USA were equipped
with Autoneum products. Net sales in Swiss
francs rose by 10.8% to CHF 977.9 million
(2014: CHF 882.7 million). EBIT increased by
CHF 16.6 million to CHF 91.7 million (2014:
CHF 75.1 million). The EBIT margin of 9.4% was
0.9 percentage points above that of the previous
year. The result achieved in North America
improved thanks to lower material costs and
the further expansion of vertical integration.
Business Group Asia again reported striking
sales growth of 20.6% in local currencies,
achieved through extensive series start-ups for
models of international and local OEMs and
with Japanese customers who were overpropor-
tionately successful in China. In Swiss francs,
sales improved by 24.5% to CHF 180.9 million
(2014: CHF 145.3 million). EBIT of Business
Group Asia rose by CHF 5.1 million to CHF 25.0
million, corresponding to a further increase in
the EBIT margin to 13.8%. Material efficiency
and continuous improvement of production
standards contributed to the high EBIT margin.
Net sales of Business Group SAMEA were
decimated by the collapse in the main market
Brazil. Whereas sales in local currencies
declined by 5.7%, due to significant devaluation
of the Brazilian real and Argentine peso, net
sales in Swiss francs were reduced by 23.9%
to CHF 94.3 million (2014: CHF 123.9 million).
EBIT declined from CHF 1.5 million in the
previous year to CHF –12.5 million. Burdening
the result of Business Group SAMEA was the
ongoing recession and associated massive drop
in demand in Brazil, as well as non-recurring
expenses associated with relocating a Brazilian
plant. High production volumes in Turkey
and South Africa were able to partly offset the
declines in South American production.
Changes to the Group Executive Board
The Board of Directors of Autoneum Holding Ltd
appointed Andreas Kolf as Head of Business
Group Asia and member of the Group Executive
Board of Autoneum Holding Ltd as of March 1,
2016. Andreas Kolf has many years of experi-
ence as a managing director of international
automotive suppliers and a profound knowledge
of the Asian automotive market. He succeeds
Dr Uwe Trautmann, who made a personal decision
to leave the company at the end of February
2016 and return to Europe after 20 years in
Asia. Uwe Trautmann headed Business Group
Asia from 2007 until 2011 as a member of the
Executive Committee of the Automotive Systems
Division of Rieter Holding Ltd and served on the
Group Executive Board of Autoneum Holding Ltd
since its foundation in May 2011. The Board
of Directors of Autoneum Holding Ltd and CEO
Martin Hirzel regret Uwe Trautmann’s resigna-
tion, thank him for his major contribution to the
development of Business Group Asia and wish
him all the best for this new stage in his life.
Volker Eimertenbrink, Head of Business
Group SAMEA and member of the Group
Executive Board of Autoneum Holding Ltd, left
Autoneum at the end of 2015 to take on new
professional challenges. He assumed manage-
ment of the Business Group SAMEA in March
2012. From 2008 until the separation of
Autoneum in 2011, Volker Eimertenbrink was
Almost all of the 15 best-selling car models in the
USA were equipped with Autoneum products.