Some things might get worse before they get better. Car seat manufacturer Adient (Dublin / Ireland; www.adient.com) has published provisional Q2 figures for fiscal 2019 and – like in the previous quarters – they do not look very good. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between USD 185-195m (approximately EUR 165-174m), which would be 50% down on the same period in 2018. Revenue declined by nearly 10% to USD 4.2 bn in the second quarter. The group has scheduled 7 May to report its final Q2 figures.

Douglas Del Grosso, who assumed the role of CEO in October 2018, nevertheless sees light at the end of the tunnel. "Adient's preliminary Q2 results demonstrate that the actions taken to improve the company's operational and financial performance are taking hold," he said. Del Grosso forecasts a much better second half-year for his company. Adient has cut back on investment in the last few months and made a flatter organisation of its reportable segments, with only three fully integrated regions now, namely the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific.

In fiscal 2018, the seat manufacturer slipped deep into the red. EBIT was touching the billion-dollar mark, and the net loss of nearly USD 1.7 bn was the company’s highest since 2014. This is due to, among other things, write-offs of over USD 100m for the joint venture Yanfeng Automotive Interiors (YFAI, Shanghai / China; www.yfai.com) and for the Seat Structures and Mechanisms division. At the same time, Adient’s revenue rose 7% to USD 17.4 bn.