Restructuring costs have pushed Visteon’s (Van Buren Township, Michigan / USA; www.visteon.com) first-quarter net income into red territory, with the automotive parts supplier reporting a loss of USD 35m (EUR 32.1m) from the year-earlier profit of USD 14m. A USD 33m charge was booked to cover expenditures it would incur for restructuring programmes announced recently amidst efforts to streamline operations.

Quarterly sales dwindled to USD 643m, down by USD 94m, an amount attributed to the effects of Covid-19. Adjusted EBITDA, which excludes one-offs, dropped to USD 33m from USD 41m. Visteon said it had temporarily suspended, or significantly reduced, production at manufacturing facilities outside of China to mitigate the impact of Covid-19. Cost-cutting programmes were also initiated.

The company made temporary global compensation reductions for its key executives, by as much as 40% for the CEO. It was 30% for Visteon’s executive committee and 20% for all other employee salaries.

Visteon said separately that protective face shields and personal protective equipment (PPE) are being made at its site in Palmela / Portugal, where it usually manufactures automotive cockpit electronics. Up to 50,000 masks and PPE would be made there and delivered to hospitals. Factories in Chennai, Tamil Nadu / India, Reynosa / Mexico and Manaus / Brazil are replicating the process.

Face shield production in Palmela began on 1 April with the goal of creating 2,000 units/day to initially supply 12 hospitals and medical centres in Portugal. With high demand across the continent, Visteon aims to support facilities throughout Europe and the US in the coming weeks.