Automotive: Lear closes 2018 in the green, but a -5% in the last quarter causes concern

The year 2018 slows down Lear’s earnings. US-based multinational company, leader in the seating segment and electronic systems for the automotive industry, closed the 4^th quarter of the balance sheet with a 5% decrease in sales, from 5.4 billion USD to 4.9 billion, when comparing the same time period. Meanwhile, considering the whole year, Lear Corporation had a positive year, with sales growing 600 million, to a total of 21.1 billion USD, in comparison to the past year. “In the fourth quarter, global production of vehicles decreased by 5%, in comparison to last year, with China losing 15%”, commented Ray Scott, president and ceo of Lear, who also highlighted how “even with a challenging macroeconomic and industrial environment, we were able to deliver solid financial results”. Mr. Scott also added that he was “enthusiastic about the significant growth opportunities that the company has in front of it”. Lear’s ceo continued to explain that, during 2019, “the sector will continue to face new challenges”, but that Lear “is well positioned with its two business segments, both of which are high performing, as well as being complementary and aligned with key trend that drive the future trends of the automotive segment”.