Provisional figures issued by seat manufacturer Grammer (Amberg / Germany; www.grammer.com) show a 1% rise in sales to EUR 1 bn in 2008. EBIT was also virtually unchanged at EUR 32m (EUR 32.1m in 2007) but only after adjustment for one-off expenses totalling EUR 7m. Grammer expects net income for the year to be EUR 12-14m.

The Automotive segment continued to suffer from the poor business conditions in the sector, which pushed segment sales down 3% to EUR 638m. By contrast, Seating Systems grew sales 7% to EUR 390m (up from EUR 363m in 2007), mainly due to its performance in the first six months. Business slowed significantly from mid-year as the financial and economic crisis began to bite. Grammer will be announcing its full results for 2008 at a press conference on March 31, 2009.

The company predicts that 2009 will be a difficult year. The Seating Systems segment has been feeling the effects of the downturn since the beginning of the year. The management expects sales to drop by 25-30% in the first half of the year, resulting in negative EBIT. It has therefore decided not to pay a dividend for 2008.

The question is whether the action already taken, for example, short-time working, production relocations and reducing the number of temporary workers – see Plasteurope.com of 23.01.2009 – will prove sufficient and whether the economy picks up as hoped towards the middle/end of the year. Grammer has already announced that “further structural capacity adjustment measures, especially headcount adjustments, will be necessary”.